Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December / Jan 2016 | Page 16

COVER STORY

Student
Accommodation
Increased Demand to Increasing Opportunity
BY DREW HOOK

T

he increasing demand for student accommodation in South Africa over the last few years
has opened up a number of new opportunities
for investors, both locally and abroad.
With over one million students registered at private
and public universities in South Africa, opportunities
for property investors are seemingly infinite.
A survey by The Times of nine South African
universities found:
• There are only 68419 spaces for the 140000
residence applications for 2015 countrywide.
• Wits received 34000 applications; it can
accommodate 6000 students;
• The University of Cape Town received 21469
applications; it can accommodate 6600;
• Stellenbosch University received 13600
accommodation applications; it can accommodate
6200;
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DEC/JAN 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

• The University of Pretoria can accommodate 9470
of its 49000 students on campus; and
• The University of KwaZulu-Natal is one of the
institutions that can almost meet the demand for
accommodation. It will house 12088 of 12727
applicants
Before investing in a student housing property certain
key factors must be taken into consideration. The
location where a student accommodation is situated
must be easily accessible and within walking distance
to their institutions and other places of interest. As
most students do not own cars and rely on public
transport to get around, the property where they reside
needs to be close to main routes for access to public
transport. A secure residential property is of paramount
importance so that student tenants can be assured of a
safe environment.
Because of an ongoing shortage in student
accommodation, especially close to campus, and limited
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