European PBSA investment volume reaches record €11.7 bln

According to Savills, the total investment volume for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in Europe reached €11.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, a 130% increase on the same period in 2021 and a record high.

Investor interest in the sector is being driven by a rising number of students attending university, as well as strong growth in international students who heavily rely on PBSA. Savills expects this growth to continue over the coming years, as the number of young people in Europe (15-19-year-olds) is forecast to rise by 5.8 percent by 2027. 

“The Polish PBSA market is far from saturated. In addition, the rental housing market is currently red hot due to declining creditworthiness, rising interest rates, and demand coming from Ukrainian refugees, which is further compounding the shortage of beds in student houses. The beginning of the current academic year has probably been the hardest ever in terms of finding student accommodation. This has translated into unwavering investor demand for this asset class. The large share of international students as a percentage of all tenants makes for collecting some rent in the euro, which is opening up an opportunity of financing PBSA projects in this currency,” Bartosz Cisło, Associate, Corporate Finance & Valuation at Savills, said.

(WBJ)