Supply gap in student accommodation

Supply gap in student accommodationWhile Australia is the fifth most popular study destination for international students, we are failing to provide enough high quality accommodation to meet demand, finds a new report by JLL.JLL’s Australian Student Accommodation Market Update 2015 reveals just 58,109 purpose-built student accommodation beds exist in the top six metropolitan areas, despite the fact that 1.3 million students are currently studying around Australia.The research identifies a potential shortfall in purpose-built student accommodation for international students in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melbourne has the biggest shortfall of existing and planned accommodation, with a deficit of 69,323 beds. In Sydney, the gap is 29,361, while Brisbane is 15,309 beds behind.In all, Australia provides less than one bed of purpose-built accommodation for every 10 students. In comparison, the ratio in London is more than two-and-a-half beds per 10 students.Australia is currently the fifth most popular study destination for international students behind the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.”Given the structural undersupply of good quality accommodation across many locations in Australia, further development is necessary to support Australia’s appeal to international students and domestic students studying interstate and intrastate,” says JLL director Conal Newland. With 8661 beds to be delivered over the next five years, Brisbane currently has the highest pipeline of accommodation to be developed. Melbourne has 6856 beds and Sydney has 4954 beds to be delivered.JLL’s analysis does not include students living in sub-standard and inappropriate housing.The JLL Report also identifies a number of global investors that have entered the market in the last five years.”Global investors have identified the opportunity to participate in the Australian student accommodation market and over the last 18 months we have seen institutional investors such as Macquarie Capital, GIC, Valparaiso private equity, APG and Scape enter the market,” Newland adds.