Offshore Capital Eyes PBSA as Student Numbers Jump

Sydney’s international student enrolments have increased 38 per cent in the four years since the start of Covid, according to research by professional services and investment managers Colliers International.

South Australia’s international student enrolments have risen 22 per cent and Queensland figures have experienced a 14 to 15 per cent increase.

Colliers uses first-year university enrolment figures to better understand fluctuations in the Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) sector.

The majority of tenants living in PBSA developments are first-year international university students, according to Colliers. That demographic tapers off as students become more familiar with their surroundings, and eventually move into the general residential sector.

“And so one of the main metrics that we look at is international enrolment commencements,” Colliers head of hotels and student accommodation Christopher Milou said.

“These are significant increases.” 

He said Victoria was now on par with their pre-Covid numbers in terms of student commencements.

▲  Colliers head of hotels and student accommodation Christopher Milou.

And while Western Australia had had an 80 per cent increase in commencements, Milou said that figure was coming off much lower enrolment figures.

Milou is one of nearly a dozen industry experts and stakeholders who will speak  at The Urban Developer’s PBSA Sector: Addressing the Supply-Demand Gap vSummit on October 26.

Attendees will hear there is a “large weight of capital” looking at alternative asset classes, such as build-to-rent and PBSA, as they move away from the office and retail space.

“If you look at some of the big companies like Scape, for example, they are definitely over-subscribed in terms of them seeking funding” Milou said.

“And we see there’s definitely a lot of demand to deploy capital in these particular sectors at the moment”.

He pointed to the deal last month when US private equity giant Blackstone acquired Brisbane-based Student One, reportedly for more than $500 million.

▲ Rebounding international student numbers are driving interest in the sector.

The deal, involving about 2300 beds in three buildings in Brisbane’s central business district, was Blackstone’s first student accommodation investment in Australia.

“There was strong demand in that particular portfolio,” Milou said.

Much of the investor interest was coming from abroad, mainly south-east Asia. More specifically, he said, from Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

While revenues remained strong, the cost of construction, a shortage of labour, the planning process and general economic headwinds were making it difficult to get projects off the ground.

“Operational costs have gone up, obviously, due to inflation so that’s keeping profit margins fairly stable at the moment,” Milou said.

“Owner-operators are saying rising construction costs are making feasibilities more difficult, but that is across the board.

“Getting through planning in terms of finding a site then getting approval, that process is quite lengthy,” he said. “And finding the right builder can be difficult because they are working on very tight margins at the moment.

“So that’s a concern for them.”

The Urban Developer’s Australia’s PBSA Sector: Addressing the Supply-Demand Gap vSummit will take place on Thursday, October 26. 

Click here to register and learn more.