Student property investment

While the UK has an array of high quality, renowned universities and further education facilities, the student property market is one which now covers the whole world. Other areas of particular interest are the USA and Australia which also boast some of the best education facilities on the planet. In years gone by student property investment was seen as low quality, low-grade and with very little in the way of security and future growth. However, the situation has changed dramatically over the last 10 years or so and student property investment is now a major market.

There have been some major changes in the student property investment market as wealthier parents are now looking to acquire properties for their children to live in when they go to university. However, we’ve also seen a significant increase in the number of multi-student accommodation facilities and indeed some of the world’s largest property companies are now looking at this area of the investment market.

Guaranteed income

If you look at some of the largest university cities around the world you will see a growing number of international students studying an array of different subjects. The Internet has assisted the worldwide education sector in recent times and opened up an array of overseas positions to not only expand a person’s education but appreciation of different cultures. As a consequence there are now more and more reasons why youngsters, and indeed more mature students, would even contemplate university which is creating potential multiple income streams for investors.

Quote from PropertyForum.com : “Does anybody know of the pros and cons of buying a unit in a purpose built block of student accommodation? Given that the income yield is high, what is the capital gain potential for this type of investment on resale?”

While some student accommodation facilities are more developed than others the days of the pile them high, sell them cheap bedrooms and facilities have long gone in the world’s major university cities. Other areas of the world are taking a little longer to catch up, creating more long-term investment opportunities, but there has certainly been a sea change in student accommodation of late.

International students continue to grow in numbers

If you look at any of the major economies around the world they will all have a base which incorporates high-quality and high spec further education facilities. If we take one example in Australia, this is an area of the world which has invested an enormous amount of money over the last 20 or 30 years and is now beginning to reap the rewards. The reputation of Australian universities continues to grow as the Australian education department seems to announce more and more overseas partnerships. This is leading to highly skilled individuals leaving Australian universities and climbing aboard the employment ladder towards the top end.

The European Union has also encouraged integration of European education services and EU citizens are now free to move within Europe and take advantage of some of the best universities in the world including those in Scotland and England for example. This continuous and growing stream of applicants, with many universities having to turn down individuals due to restricted numbers, has caught the eye of property investment companies across the world. There is no doubt that student accommodation, across an array of different levels, is now big money and there are a growing number of property companies focusing specifically in this area.