For buy-to-let investors in new homes, the student housing market is a strange one. Whether we’re talking about private or halls accommodation, the growing demand from both British and international students has caused a rift in how property owners approach student living.
Therefore, owning student flats, whether it’s one or a multitude, has changed exceptionally. With more interest from students to live away from home and find their own housing, demand has risen exponentially, and this is certainly a game changer in the letting market. With this high demand comes a significant change in how students choose their accommodation, and how sellers can provide them with those options.
Here are some of the ways in which student letting has changed, and what we need to do to keep up.
Online letting agencies
Besides halls of residence, one of the main places that students go to look for accommodation is large-scale online agencies spread over multiple cities. These are now agencies specialised solely in student housing and properties, as opposed to dedicated locales or universities. Some of these agencies are very interested in buying up properties and converting them into student living in these high-demand cities with universities that continue to grow.
Student Cribs is one such agency, with an easy to use online platform to find student properties across the UK. They are in the business of buying properties and refurbishing them to be ideal for student living as opposed to family-oriented living spaces. Where some letting agencies try and do both, students recently seem to prefer these student-oriented platforms that cater to their needs specifically and are easier to use, as students tend to have no experience talking to letting agencies or landlords. It is a simpler solution for them.
Higher standards
This is evidently a trend in all housing endeavours, but student accommodation is rising in value. Student houses tend to be higher quality than they were, meaning landlords are having to refurbish properties more often to keep up to standards and trends. This includes furnishing, of course, as student homes and flats are furnished and must be a high enough degree to be desirable. Students are more demanding than ever, and those that look for housing earlier are less likely to settle for something below their standards. In the competitive climate that it is nowadays, keeping on trend and refurbishing to a high degree to keep students happy is an absolute must.
Demand creates choice and competition
Such high demand has created great choice for students. Of course, with more students flooding into university towns and cities, more and more property owners have gone into the student housing world, bringing with them all sorts of choice of properties and furnishing. Due to this, anybody competing in the industry is forced to upgrade their own properties to have any pull on the students, creating more and more high-level choices for students to choose from. This is the reason student-centred landlords and agencies are gaining traction – they give the clients exactly what they want, to the level they need.
What do students want?
Speaking of higher demands, what is it that these demands are exactly? What do students want, and what will make your accommodation specifications the talk of the town? Nowadays it’s about finding the right balance between affordability and luxury. Growing demands and all, students are still students, aren’t they? Living costs are rising, tuition costs are as well, and affordability is perhaps more than ever on the mind. However, with a multitude of landlords and agencies providing cheap housing with many perks, it’s important to keep in mind what will bring in customers.
Students are looking for places not just to sleep, but to live, work, socialise, and relax. Amenities like washers and dryers, Wi-Fi, and perhaps even televisions are a must-have. Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) properties will want other luxuries like common rooms with games or ping pong, snooker tables, and the like. Often, you see these larger private halls with gyms sizing from a few machines to all-inclusive facilities. At a base level, student accommodation should be modern and generously furnished, so students can really have a social life there.
Modern kitchens are an absolute must: the cleaner design, the better. These clean designs are also easier to physically clean, which is a big plus in student housing. It may seem like a lot to ask for an affordable price, but this purpose-built accommodation is all the rage for both students and landlords, and is absolutely a profitable way to work in the housing market. There will always be student demand.
How has Covid-19 changed the market?
There is no question that Covid-19 has changed the way all of us live, including students to no small degree. Covid-19 has changed the face of student housing. From students deciding to live at home to incoming students deciding not to enrol this year, it is probable we are seeing a brief decline in students looking for accommodation outside of their hometown. While this does not by any means signify that student housing demand is gone, it is a strong consideration to keep in mind.
Now more than ever, it is important for these student properties to have features such as strong, reliable Wi-Fi and comfortable working areas so students can attend university in their flats. Even though some students may be taking all their courses online, most universities are working on a half and half basis, where students will take some classes online and some in person. For all these students, their accommodation demands will be relatively different and stronger than ever.
We all know how important it is to separate work and home life, and when half of all classes are taken online, that can be very difficult, as is working from home. As opposed to when what students wanted was big living areas with room for everyone to socialise, now perhaps we should place more attention on personal work stations, with a significant separation between those and a comfortable place to live otherwise.
Keeping up
If Covid-19 has taught us anything at all, it’s that we cannot predict the future. We cannot predict trends, recessions, or anything that will significantly change the housing market, which changes every day. If your work centres around student housing, then the most important thing is to keep up with the changes as much as possible and, like in any business, give your clients what they need to the highest degree of service. A student house today looks wildly different than it did 10, 20, 30 years ago, and for good reason. As any other housing demands change, so do the demands of students. While we can’t see the future, the best thing to do is prepare for change.
Success in the housing industry can certainly be difficult to reach. You have to step up at just the right time and compete with agencies and landlords who perhaps have been in the game for much longer. However, with more of an understanding of how student trends and demands can change, we can create affordable, competitive, desirable student housing. Regardless of how trends, generational shifts, or Covid-19 have changed the industry, the demand is there and will continue to be there in the UK, and it’s not one to pass up.