(Finance) – Today in Italy there are over 85,000 student bedswith a growing presence of modern student housing facilities managed by specialized operators in line with international standards. In the next three years this number will increase by approximately 28,000 beds, with most of the new facility openings expected in 2026, to reach an overall offering that will exceed the one hundred thousand units by 2027. Since the number of students at traditional universities is expected to remain stable in the short term and the amount of student accommodation on offer is expected to grow, it is estimated that the coverage rate could reach 15 percent within three years, narrowing the national gap with the European average. These are some of the data emerging from the Report ‘Student housing from niche market to mature sector‘, presented during the conference ITALY CHIAMA EUROPA – The future of student housing in 2030 and created by Scenari Immobiliari for Re.Uni, the association that brings together the three main players in the Italian student housing sector (Camplus, CampusX and Joivy) and bedStudent.
“In Italy – he declared Mario Breglia, President of Scenari Immobiliari – the student housing sector is proving to be a rapidly evolving asset class, with high investment potential and geographical diversification. Furthermore, the current gap between existing supply and growing demand for university accommodation sta creating a great opportunity for real estate investors. The attractiveness of the sector is confirmed by the ever-increasing number of developers, players and market operators. In particular, the student residences in the pipeline are characterized by an investor structure that sees different actors involved, mostly real estate funds or foreign investment companies”.
“The interest in the business of accommodation for out-of-town students – he stated Francesca Zirnstein, General Manager of Scenari Immobiliari – is growing and now occupies a significant portion of investments in the residential sectorequal to approximately 45%. Student housing represents one of the main alternative investment asset classes in real estate and is able to offer very interesting returns, thanks to a constantly increasing demand. A further incentive to invest in student housing comes from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), this investment with public funds represents an excellent opportunity for private entities” and a test bed for the collaboration capabilities of the real estate industry and for verifying the quality of those who manage the residences.
“L’Re.Uni Association is fully aware that the university residence market is experiencing a moment of great excitement and interest, even internationally. We therefore believe that it is necessary to deploy the resources of specialized, competent and student-focused managers, to best respond to this real need for bed spaces, also thanks to a complete collaboration between private and public entities” he stated Maurizio Carvelli, President Re.Uni. “We chose to publicly launch the association through research because often incorrect data is presented on the sector, especially on costs and beds, and we believe it is essential to work starting from real data because only in this way can we do good for students and their right to study. Our work will focus on this in the coming years because only with a real reform of the law for the right to study can we guarantee more places to sleep and therefore also more competitive prices that meet the needs of all students and their families. Having as a dual objective both that of expand the writings to the associationwhich today is made up of the founding members Camplus, Campus x, Joivy and the first new member, bedstudent, both that of dialogue with investors, public bodies and the Ministry to guarantee the university system a student-housing market that is up to par” concluded Carvelli.
The new residential projects for students
In the coming years, real estate activity will be mainly concentrated in university centers in Northern Italy, such as Milan, Turin, Padua, Bologna, Rome and Florence will also gain greater importance. Most of the new beds for university students, over 75%, will be developed in the North, while less than 5% will be allocated to the South and about 20% to Central Italy. Secondary cities such as Aosta, Bolzano and Bergamo also show a growing interest, while there is a need to expand consolidated urban territories towards provincial areas such as Sesto San Giovanni and Novate Milanese. This distribution could accentuate the gap between the university hubs of the North and those of the South, negatively influencing enrollments in southern universities, where the rate of bed coverage is significantly lower than the national average (8.8%).
Investments in off-campus student accommodation
In the last three months of 2023, investments in residential sector reached approximately 210 million euros, with more than 180 million concentrated in Milan, marking an increase compared to the previous quarter. Overall, the volume of investments in the residential sector reached seven hundred million euros, representing approximately 11% of the total. This interest is particularly evident in the Build to Rent, Build to Sell and student housing sectors.
Investor interest is supported by new trends in contemporary living, particularly in the area of off-site student accommodation, which has attracted investment. for 315 million euros, constituting 45% of overall volumes in the residential sector. More than 70% of these investments come from foreign capital.
The sector student housing continues to growwith an increase in operators and a diversification of investors involved. This segment is considered essential to balance a real estate portfolio, thanks to the consolidation of the fundamentals of both current and future demand, especially at a local level.
Italy follows the trend already consolidated in other European countries, where the brand image and the reliability of the institutions play a crucial role in the involvement of the different stakeholders. Student housing is seen as a fundamental real estate infrastructure, with a very heterogeneous geographical distribution of beds in Italy, reflecting different speeds of growth and adaptation in the various territories.
Rents in university cities
Over the past year, rents in Italy’s major university cities have seen significant increases. Bari recorded the highest variation, over 30%, followed by Lecce, Brescia and Bologna with increases between 13% and 15%. In Milan, Florence and Padua the increases were more modest, reflecting the maturity of the local market.
To rent a single room in the university districts of Milan, the average cost is 10,000 euros per year, corresponding to approximately 340 euros/m2/year (860 euros/room/month). In Venice, the average rent is 260 euros/m2/year (650 euros/room/month), with increases of 45% in Milan and 18% in Venice compared to the free market, recorded in the last 5 years.
Residential real estate offerings for students in Italy
In Italy, the housing offer for university students is dominated by residences affiliated with the Dsu (Right to Education)which represent almost 90% of the approximately 49,000 available beds throughout the country. The University Colleges of Merit (Ccum) offer just over 5,000 additional beds. Despite this, the coverage of structured beds compared to out-of-town students is 7.3%. Pavia shows an offer significantly higher than the national average, while cities such as Turin, Padua, Milan and Bologna continue to attract students despite a still limited social offer.