Investors are increasingly looking westward as a destination for new purpose-built student accommodation.
Western Australia and Perth have typically lagged behind their East Coast rivals when it comes to the supply of student accommodation. Each university is located in the suburbs, which is in contrast to other capitals around the country, which have city-based campuses.
This is all changing as the under-construction ECU City Campus readies to open its doors next year, and student accommodation investors are clearly looking to support the city-based initiative, which is the jewel in student-led city renewal.
The Urbis Student Accommodation Benchmarks created in partnership with the Student Accommodation Council show that Perth has had the lowest number of beds per student.
ACT is the most well-supplied capital city market, with a benchmark supply of 2.9 total enrolments per bed, with the national benchmark sitting at 6.5 students per bed.
New South Wales (7.7) and Western Australia (9.9) have the lowest relative level of supply compared to other major markets and the overall national benchmark. According to the report, Western Australia has 8,588 beds for students.
The $853 million Edith Cowan University (ECU) City campus topped out last December.
When it opens in semester one, 2026, the 11 super-level ECU City campus will bring together creative industries, business, and emerging technologies under one roof in the heart of Perth.
Sirona Urban’s $150 million, 736-bed student tower on the corner of Pier and Wellington St recently topped out in a sign of growing investor interest.
UniLodge will operate the building, with Australian Unity, MaxCap and Sirona providing the equity.
“The Sirona Urban Student Accommodation development marks Australian Unity’s first entry into the Perth market in partnership with Unilodge—an encouraging sign of investor confidence in the city,” Student Accommodation Council Executive Director Torie Brown said.
“With the new ECU campus drawing more students into the CBD, the demand for purpose-built student accommodation is growing. Investors have recognised this, and we expect more developments to follow.”
Upcoming student accommodation projects include an 832-bed tower on Wellington Street and a 19-story development in Kings Square.
Fiveight in a recent development application laid out plans to incorporate student accommodation into its $400 million revamp of Carillon City, a retail mall in the heart of the CBD.
If approved, a 17-storey hotel and 30-story student accommodation tower would form centerpiece of the redevelopment, with an open-air central plaza sitting between the two set to contain four levels of retail and hospitality options.
It isn’t just the property developers or student accommodation investors that are excited. CEO of Study Perth, Ms Derryn Belford said “While Perth has historically lagged behind the East in terms of student accommodation development, the strong growth in student numbers is now attracting PBSA investment into Perth.
“Perth is shaping into a vibrant student city – with high-quality education and training providers, job and career opportunities across a wide range of industries, and now the growth of purpose-built student accommodation,” she said.
