2022 Student Accommodation

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD 34

Costs OPERATIONAL Investment volumes in the UK PBSA sector reached £4.6bn (totaling over 34,000 beds) over the course of 2021. The sector continued to demonstrate its resilience as investors looked past the perceived short term risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the sector welcomed a clear return to normal in achieving volumes in line with the five-year average and over £500m ahead of the 10-year average, despite strict social restrictions remaining in place throughout much of Q1.

Since then, we have seen the return of confidence amongst investors and a pent-up demand to deploy capital, culminating in January 2022 being the highest January for transaction volumes on record by over £250m, and 2022 being the second highest Q1 on record behind 2015. Based on Cushman & Wakefield’s projections, total year end volumes for 2022 are expected to be the highest on record and the sector is likely to continue increasing market share compared to other sub sectors in the UK property market.

DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE BY MARKET

£7

£6

£5

5-year average

10-year average

£4

£3

£2

Transaction Volumes Billions

£1

£0

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Student Accommodation Tracker