Demand for student accommodation in the UK is soaring compared with the
same period last year, letting agents say.
In Newcastle, the Walton Robinson agency says it has set a record for the
number of enquiries from students for its properties – for 2022/23.
They say they have let 76% more properties than they did over the same
period last year.
The student lettings agency began listing properties for next year four
weeks ago and the firm’s lettings manager, Kyle Dickson, said: “We have
already seen a 70% rise in enquiries compared with last year and we expect
many students will be looking to secure their accommodation quickly.”
Average student rents have risen
The agency says that with more students attending universities in Newcastle
this year, the average student rent has also risen by nearly 5%.
The firm’s operations director, Mark Smith, said: “From a lettings
perspective, this time of year is always busy, but we’ve seen a huge
increase in the number of enquiries and lets.”
In Edinburgh, Cullen Property says it is seeing 50 students applying for
every available student property.
Demand is still strong even though students began returning to universities
in September and that property demand usually spikes in the summer months.
Dire shortage of student properties
However, the student letting agent says that since there is huge demand
from students and a dire shortage of student properties, many student
tenants are now having to reduce their desired group size and settle for
either one-or two-bed properties.
These homes have usually been let to professionals previously.
In addition, the agency says that some international students are being
forced to stay in B&Bs and put their belongings into storage while they
find somewhere to live.
Steve Coyle, the managing director of Cullen Property, said: “Our property
managers are fielding enquiries every day at 10 times what we would expect
from desperate students looking for accommodation.
“While Covid has caused some universities to stagger return dates and delay
some people’s travel, we are amazed at the huge numbers of enquiries for
every available property.”
He added: “Many students have been caught out sadly, leaving their search
too late for securing their dream home.”
Student groups began searching for HMO properties
Mr Coyle explained that the knock-on effect for the situation in Edinburgh
is that larger student groups who may have begun searching for HMO
properties are now being forced into smaller homes.
Some students are also travelling large distances from other cities or
attempting to outbid other students for advertised student properties.
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said:
“It is unusual that there is such strong demand in November for student
properties across the UK this year and next year, but it should not be
unexpected.
“Not only are universities taking on more students, but we are also seeing
students taking up places that they deferred last year when the Covid-19
lockdown was in progress so there are huge numbers of students wanting
somewhere to live.”
Mr Thompson added: “There’s no doubt too that student landlords with
quality accommodation close to a university campus will have seen strong
demand for their property and they will be able to choose quality tenants
to live in it.”
Parents are considering buying a property for their student child
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that two in three parents are considering
buying a property near their child’s university to help with their living
costs while studying.
The findings from Trussle, an online mortgage broker, also reveal that 53%
of parents confessed that downsizing to help their children through
university would be an option to help fund the purchasing of another
property.
The firm’s head of mortgages, Miles Robinson, said: “The data shows that
property is seen as a reliable and safe way to generate extra income in
both the short-term, through rent collection, and in the long-term with
house price gains.”
He added that parents wanting to purchase a buy to let property could take
advantage of low-interest loans with lots of competitive BTL rates around,
many of which are interest only.
Trussle has also revealed that student property is still an attractive
investment for those wanting to enjoy a rental yield that is between 13%
and 18% higher than for the private rental sector generally.
