High demand for accommodation by international students have pushed rental prices up by as much as 8% across the developed world.
In Canada and Australia, the average rent for purpose-built student housing increased by about 8% last year. And this was due to increased demand from international students.
According to a new report by BONARD titled ‘Student Housing Annual Report 2022’, the average rent in the United Kingdom increased by 4.4% to £1017 per month for a single studio. For the rest of Europe, costs rose by 3.1%.
Analysts believe that rising inflation and the energy crisis have also contributed to rent increases. But high demand has kept occupancy rates high despite the economic downturn.
Supply is not growing as fast as demand: The CEO of BONARD, Samuel Vetrak, said: “supply is not growing as fast as demand”. According to him, rising costs and high-interest rates are slowing down new developments in some countries.
BONARD said that excluding the US, an average of 50,000 new beds were delivered annually between 2018 and 2021. In 2022, the number rose to 75,000.
In 2023, about 77,000 beds are planned to be delivered. Meanwhile, in 2024, only about 38,000 beds are anticipated to be delivered.
The BONARD report further pointed out that the economic downturn has taken the place of the market uncertainty that the pandemic had caused.
Only travel if accommodation is secured: Students struggled to secure housing in countries including the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, with some universities warning overseas students not to travel if they haven’t found somewhere to live.
Given the high exchange rate common with most African countries including Nigeria, this means an extra strain on individuals and sponsors financing international studies.
