THE value of property deals in the purpose-built student accommodation sector in Scotland topped £100 million last year, up from £78.3m in 2016, a survey reveals.
In 2017, Glasgow saw the second-biggest increase in such student accommodation in the UK with a 16 per cent rise in beds, the survey by property consultancy GVA shows.
Aberdeen saw the greatest purpose-built student accommodation transaction activity in Scotland last year, with deals totalling £51m.
There was £40m of transactional activity in Edinburgh, with £10.75m of deals in Glasgow. Transactions in Stirling topped £2m.
The survey found rents for purpose-built student accommodation topped £140 per week across Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It revealed the number of applicants for such student accommodation in Scotland increased in 2017 for the fifth year in a row. There was a 2% increase in applicants last year.
The report identifies the “relative weakness of sterling as a significant factor in the strong appeal for foreign students”. The pound tumbled in the wake of the June 2016 Brexit vote.
The average rent for purpose-built student accommodation in Glasgow was £146 per week in 2017, down 2.9% on the previous year. The average rent in Edinburgh was down 1.3% on the previous year at £147 per week.
Aberdeen’s average weekly rent for purpose-built student accommodation was unchanged year-on-year at £141.
GVA noted 506 student accommodation beds were under construction in Edinburgh, with 618 being developed in Aberdeen.
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