Investors looking to take advantage of the burgeoning student accommodation sector have been told to look towards regional cities ahead of London in order to achieve the best returns.
Student accommodation in regional cities outperformed all other property asset classes in 2010, with total returns of 14.65 per cent, compared to 8.41 per cent for the capital.
The Knight Frank Student Property Report Spring 2011 points to Kingston, Brighton, Edinburgh and Durham in the top ten locations to invest. James Pullan, the consultant's head of student property, noted that the trend should continue this year with record applications for university places this year.
According to data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, demand for academic courses is at an all time high with nearly 700,000 university applications in 2010. There has been a significant rise in demand from the EU, the Far East and Hong Kong Knight Frank reported..
"Once again students will find there is an undersupply of student accommodation to meet their needs. The student accommodation sector is now recognised as forming a critical component of a balanced investment portfolio," Mr Pullan added.