Student housing. Confidence in the future and growth opportunities

In spite of the COVID-19 health crisis, Spain retained its appeal during the 2019/20 academic year, with the total number students enrolled (both national and international) continuing to rise.

Spain’s university offer is wide, varied and globally recognised, as shown by the fact that a large number of Spanish universities rank among the world’s best. The Spanish university system is thus a reference point at international level, and the quality of its leisure and cultural life is also highly valued by overseas students.

Student mobility continues to rise. Increasingly, Spanish students are moving outside their province of origin in search of specialised studies or prestigious universities. The number of international students attracted by the Spanish education system also continued to grow.

At JLL we estimate that some 543,000 students required accommodation during the 2019/20 academic year, an average annual growth of 4.5% since the 2014/16 academic year. To meet this demand, only 97,300 PBSA beds were available in the 2019/20 academic year, a shortfall of over 445,700 beds, a 3.5% rise on the previous year. The supply and demand mismatch, coupled with the shortage of operational product of institutional quality, continues to drive development activity in the sector.

The growing unmet accommodation demand has ensured that investment in the PBSA sector has maintained its upward trend. Attracted by its particular features compared to other mature markets, more and more specialist PBSA investors and operators are entering the Spanish market encouraged by the high national and international demand for accommodation.

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