A report from Sherry Fitzgerald’s partner, Cushman & Wakefield, has extolled the virtues of investing in student accommodation projects. The topline figure is that that there are 200,000 students in higher education and 35,000 bed spaces currently available to them.

The report declares: "Continued strong levels of demand, combined with a positive economic outlook and government initiatives, should ensure that student accommodation becomes a buoyant and secure sector in Ireland in which to invest over the coming years.”

C&W estimates that total demand for student beds nationally is running at 60,000, chasing 35,000 existing spaces, of which 12,000 are campus rooms and 23,000 are in the private sector, meaning anything from a room in a private house to a bedsit in flatland, or a space in purpose-built student accommodation centres.

Projections from the HEA estimate that demand will be 62,900 in 2019 and 68,700 in 2024, but that just 39,700 and 43,500  bed spaces will be supplied by each date.

New Projects 

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Over the past year, campus and private accommodation completions combined have brought in excess of 1,200 bed spaces to the market. There are 11 student accommodation projects currently under construction, ten of which are private accommodation developments, with eight of these located in Dublin, and two in Cork. NUI Maynooth is developing campus accommodation for 293 students, which is due for completion soon.

Aside from the Maynooth project, DIT, NUI Galway, and TCD have plans to create a total of 2,780 spaces, of which 2,100 are intended for DIT’s new campus at Grangegorman in three phases over ten years — leaving just 430 to be built in Galway and 250 in TCD on Pearse Street.

Private developers have been stepping in to answer the demand not addressed by the on-campus schemes, with 600 provided in Dublin in 2016 and 3,310 more under construction, a further 1,000 granted planning permission and 1,600 more in the planning process.

In Cork, 440 units have obtained planning permission, with a further 666 in the process, and in Galway 232 bed spaces have permission.

There are specific commitments to developing student accommodation in the state’s ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ programme published last July, with access to funding, and streamlined planning measures topping the list. Planning applications for projects in with more than 100 bed spaces will go straight to An Bord Pleanála, increasing certainty and reducing delivery timescales and costs.

Cushman & Wakefield conclude: “Student accommodation is an increasingly sought after real estate investment globally. It allows a diversification away from traditional real estate assets, along with a consistent much less volatile yield. .

“Continued strong levels of demand for student accommodation, combined with a positive economic outlook and government initiatives, should ensure that student accommodation becomes a buoyant and secure sector in Ireland in which to invest.”