Student Housing. Investment opportunities in a growing sector with limited supply.

Spain has nine universities among the best in the world, which stand out for their academic excellence and contribution to research. Furthermore, they are well regarded by international students, the number of which rose by 8.2% in the 2022-2023 academic year compared to the previous year. The population of young people in Spain that are of university age has increased by 11% over the last five years. This increase is supported by factors such as immigration, internal migration trends, and educational trends with many young people deciding to continue their studies beyond secondary education, which has contributed to the increase in the number of Spanish students enrolled in Spanish universities (up 0.7% compared to the previous academic year).

The number of places in student housing and halls of residence in Spain has risen by 8.5% over the last year. However, despite the increase in the supply of beds, it is still insufficient to cover potential demand among university students. Therefore, if the current supply is 111,420 beds and the total number of oncampus students during the 2022-2021 academic year exceeded 1.4 million, this gives a ratio of 13 students per bed, compared to 14 students per bed in the previous year.

Download our Student Housing annual report to learn more about the performance of this sector in Spain.