Tuesday, 13December 2022
New report reveals student accommodation shortage as international student levels head to pre-pandemic levels
A new report hasrevealed Perth has one of the lowest amounts of purpose-built student accommodation(PBSA) beds of any state in Australia, despite Government plans to grow thenumber of international students studying in the CBD.
The report, produced bythe Student Accommodation Council “” an arm of the Property Council ofAustralia, has found Perth only has one PBSA bed for every 27 students. Thenational average is 19 students for every existing bed. The only state withfewer beds than Perth is Tasmania.
With vacancy rates in thegeneral market at record lows, concern is growing that students will struggleto find accommodation as they return to study, with over 20,000 internationalstudents arriving in WA so far this year.
ExecutiveDirector of the Student Accommodation Council Torie Brown said with WesternAustralia”s rental market sitting at the second lowest vacancy rate inAustralia at 0.4 per cent, there is strong need for more PBSA beds if WA is toattract students.
The reportalso found that domestic Australian students make up a quarter of all residentsliving in student accommodation “” with tight rental markets making it harder tofind share house and other appropriate housing.
“Purpose-builtstudent accommodation is vital for our CBDs, because it adds housing supply tothe market which means students aren”t competing with mum and dad renters,” MsBrown said.
“Withrental markets as tight as they are, we are seeing more and more Australianstudents moving into PBSA, with the report revealing a quarter (26 per cent) ofall PBSA residents are domestic students, just one percentage point behindstudents from China (27 per cent).
“ForPerth to grow its important international education market, it needs to makesure there are enough housing options for students looking to move to WA,” shesaid.
PropertyCouncil WA Executive Director Sandra Brewer said with ECU City Campus now underconstruction it is vital opportunities are considered to encourage moreinvestment in the PBSA sector.
“The state government hasalready committed $16.8 million towards international student attraction, butwe also need to focus on the housing solutions,” she said.
“We can”tlook at attracting students without also looking at how we can encourage andincentivize investors to build more PBSA in Perth.”
“Without sufficient housingoptions, we run the real risk that students simply won”t choose Perth as theirstudy destination of choice.
“TheProperty Council hopes this report will spark conversation which will bringgreater focus to student housing and support the international education sectorwhich prior to the pandemic delivered $40 billion per year to the Australianeconomy.
Theopportunity now is for government to work collaboratively on the removal ofbarriers to investing in this asset class to guarantee we have enough beds tomeet rising demand, especially from local students, while avoiding putting morestrain on an already-tight rental market,” she said.
The reportshows that PBSA residents spend almost as much each month as the averageAustralian resident, adding to the prosperity and vibrancy of the cities theychoose to live in.
“Eachmonth, PBSA residents support our food and beverage, retail, and recreationbusiness,” Ms Brewer said.
“There”s no denying that spending from PBSA residentsis an important contributor to our economy and their presence supports and addsvibrancy to our cities,” she concluded.
Media contact: Torie Brown | 0422608 804 | [email protected]
Megan Lack | 0449 252 380 | [email protected]