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Stay-at-home Uni students and buy to let

ended 10. August 2023

A Newspage broker has alerted us to new research showing that one in three students starting university this year may opt to live at home due to the cost of living. You can read all about it in The Guardian >> here <<. Is this another blow to beleaguered landlords, especially those in university towns? Are you seeing evidence of it? Any other thoughts, send them across. 



 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Higher rates and stricter lender stress-testing, along with the Government's constant tax attack on landlords, meant student lets, Houses under Multiple Occupation and holiday lets were fast becoming the only sectors with a worthwhile return for landlords. This new research is another blow to landlords who have already had to endure so many blows and so much detriment to their portfolios. Sadly, it's not surprising more students are staying at home due to the cost of living crisis and the increasing cost of university generally. University-town economies will also be highly impacted by the lack of students coming to these towns to live, socialise and spend money.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
My daughter is a uni student, about to enter her last year, and she has opted to stay at home. The cost of uni accommodation and the rising bills is quite expensive and, in my experience, the courses since Covid have been more on line with the need to go the uni itself once or twice a week only for up to 1-3hrs at a time. By the time the students get the maintenance loan, this goes no way to cover the cost of accommodation in uni cities so the difference has to be made up somehow by work or parents. I have seen stories where students just travel by train/car and stay at a cheap hotel/B&B overnight to attend their course and saved significant sums. The need for student accommodation is there with international students and those that want the uni experience, however most cities are now at saturation point and locally we have seen many spaces still throughout the term but mainly in uni provided accommodation rather than the private sector.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Property Developer and Portfolio Landlord at The Kushman Group
Remote learning and hybrid education models have altered the necessity for students to live near their campuses. While demand for student housing has seen a dip, the broader property market remains influenced by diverse factors. The market is not solely tethered to student rentals. Portfolio landlords recognise the importance of diversification and are focusing on other segments like housing for families and HMOs. As Britain's urbanisation and population growth continue, an acute shortage of housing will continue to persist.

In the grand scheme of things, the decision of students to stay at home will indeed reshape the dynamics of student housing. However, take a step back and look at the property market as a complex ecosystem, where adjustments in one segment will be counterbalanced by strengths in others. Portfolio landlords, attuned to market diversification, remain poised to navigate these evolving trends and ensure stability in their investment portfolios.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
You can also see the appeal that after a few years of everything getting significantly more expensive being able to stay at home, live comfortably and being able to focus on your studies is probably more of a recipe for academic success than taking on a huge debt to live in a grotty student house and take on a part-time job to get by.