New Hines Report: European Student Housing Investment Surges to 5.3% of Market

Hines, the global real estate investor, developer and manager, today released a new paper titled Class Act: Redefining Student Living in Europe, which highlights the sector’s rapidly growing appeal to international investors.

The research reveals the growth of European Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) as an investable asset over the last few years, with total investment rising sharply from 1.9% of total European investment activity in 2019 to 5.3% as of the end of 2024.

David Steinbach, Global Chief Investment Officer at Hines, said:“Building and acquiring purpose-built student living schemes in our preferred markets is a high-conviction investment theme for Hines globally. The number of young people choosing higher education in Europe remains on a fast growth trajectory and the undersupply of purpose-built student housing in cities with top universities is notable.”

Joshua Scoville, Global Head of Research at Hines, said:“The European PBSA sector is case study in how with the right fundamentals and market conditions, a niche asset class can build momentum and become a high conviction theme in a relatively short time frame.

“As student living continues to expand and evolve, so do the opportunities for real estate investors able to successfully identify student trends in terms of location then execute on delivering best in class facilities to attract what is now a discerning, international customer base.”

The report illustrates that the flight-to-quality trend evident in other sectors, such as Office and Retail, is also prevalent in PBSA. Europe’s top-ranked educational institutions experience the most significant spike in demand, with universities in the Global top 100 seeing an average uplift in total student numbers of just over 10%, with the next 100 seeing a rise of 5%.

The Class Act: Redefining Student Living in Europe research paper is available for download on the Hines website.

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