Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December / Jan 2016 | Page 17

COVER STORY

possibilities for further developments close to campus,
these properties are extremely popular. With safety
an issue and parking a huge problem, parents prefer
their children to rent close to campus and are willing
to pay a competitive rate to get their children into these
properties. Annual increases in rent is a given, and with
the cost of official university accommodation always
increasing, I believe it will remain this way.
There is also continuous capital growth, mainly
because of the activity in this market. Many parents
prefer not to rent, but to buy a sectional title, only to
sell after the last child has completed his/her studies.
The result is an annual selling and buying process, with
constant new and willing buyers to start the next cycle
of ownership.
Increased Demand and Investment Opportunities
Universities throughout the country are faced with
an ever-increasing problem as their students struggle
to find suitable accommodation. Students come from
www.reimag.co.za

all over the country to attend universities and find
themselves faced with a chronic shortage of safe, secure
and affordable accommodation.
Academic institutions have identified the problem as
being one of great concern. Often the accommodations
in question are too far from the campus, offer little in
the way of transport to and from campus and tolerate
unsafe, overcrowded, unhygienic accommodation,
which is not conducive to studying. The lack of student
housing has become one of the primary causes for
poor performance and the high dropout rates at many
universities in South Africa.
Rising maintenance costs, ageing residences and
other problems have limited the growth options for on
campus student housing, despite increased allocations
for upgrades. Many universities do not have sufficient
space for new developments and some have resorted
to outsourcing their accommodation needs to
private developers and building managers. Academic
and teaching facilities are also prioritsed ahead of
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