Student Housing a Top Performer in UK for Foreign Investors

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According to The Mistoria Group, there has been a surge in student housing investment activity in the last two years, and student accommodations is certainly big business in the UK now.  Last year alone saw over £2 billion of investment from UK and overseas investors in this growing property sector.
 
Since 2011, student accommodation has outperformed all other traditional property assets and has been the strongest growing investment property market in the UK.  It has also continued to be one of the most resilient investment sectors, with rental incomes and property values remaining stable, or increasing.  The attraction of the student accommodation sector has been driven by structural undersupply and positive rental growth year on, despite the economic downturn.
 
The average gross cash rental yields for the student property sector in the North West of England were 13% for the first three quarters of 2014, well ahead of the 6.37%* forecast for average student property yields across the UK, for this year. (*Source: Savills Report: The UK's student housing sector, May 2014).  What's more, the yields are 6-7 per cent higher on average than the buy-to-let market as a whole, which stood at 6.2%* between April and June 2014.
 
Mish Liyanage, Managing Director of The Mistoria Group comments, "Investing in student accommodation offers overseas investors a long-term investment option, as the property is highly likely to be in constant demand throughout the calendar year.  Typical rents are significantly higher for student properties, than a comparable Buy-to-Let property in the same city.
 
"What's more, the domestic student population is continuing to expand, with an extra 30,000 university places offered in 2014.  UCAS have reported they are expecting an all-time high of 500,000 applications this year.
 
"Students will pay more in the UK for high quality, well-maintained accommodation than for the traditional run down and neglected shared houses, because there really isn't a big price difference between poor and high quality accommodation. The vast majority of students want to live in high quality, shared accommodation, with good internet access and affordable bills, so the better quality properties are highly sought after.
 
"Whilst the number of students is rising, so are the costs of rent for student accommodation, providing investors with much higher yields.   A HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) property can provide an 8% minimum cash yield, though we provide a typical 13% cash yield, including 5% capital appreciation.
 
"I believe it is realistic for numbers of international students in higher education to grow by 15%-20% over the next five years.  There is no cap on the number of students who can come to study in the UK and the structural undersupply will continue to remain in all key university cities ensuring excellent sustainable rental growth."