As higher education and accommodation senior leaders, it is important to inform your strategic direction with respect to shifting demographics and market conditions.
Using a robust methodology incorporating exclusive StudentCrowd data, as well as data from HESA & UCAS, our Higher Education Lead Roxanne Muller has identified key trends in student accommodation supply and demand dynamics in this report.
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Last cycle saw an increase in student numbers but a drop in HMO (houses in multiple occupation) beds, resulting in an accommodation shortage relative to demand. This cycle, applications have decreased slightly as a result of:
- A plateau in the 18-year-old applicant pool
- A drop in mature applications (affecting healthcare subjects disproportionately)
- A mid-term plateau in applications from China
- And visa changes directly and negatively impacting applications from Nigeria and India
Accommodation prices are rising annually, with fewer incentives offered, driving up rental prices and raising a continual question of affordability.
However, unique StudentCrowd insight demonstrates that affordability is not about price, but much more to do with perceptions of value for money.