Kajima has appointed Michał Obara as the Managing Director of Student Depot, Poland’s largest student accommodation provider. The appointment follows Kajima acquiring Griffin Capital Partners’ shareholding in Student Depot and opening nearly a thousand additional beds in 2023. 

Nuveen Real Estate alongside its joint venture partner, Value One, has completed the development of Fabryczna 22, the second Polish student living asset to be delivered by the two firms’ Eagle joint venture.

Cushman & Wakefield has released a new report on the student housing market in Poland. Supply of public and private halls of residence fails to keep pace with growing demand. In addition, halls of residence remain very popular among students in Poland despite rising rental rates, which in turn is making the PBSA (Purpose-Built Student Accommodation) sector attractive to international investors.

A new premium-quality privately-owned student residence has been launched as part of the Student Depot chain. Offering a total of 540 rooms and located at the junction of Modzelewskiego Street and Wilanowska Avenue in Warsaw, the facility was constructed on a turnkey basis by Kajima Poland. 

In Poland, on average, only 1 out of 100 students can expect a place in a modern dormitory. In Europe, approximately 15% of students can secure accommodation in dormitories. According to JLL research, the current unmet demand for student beds in dormitories reaches 4.7 million in the largest European cities. Poland, with 1.2 million students, ranks sixth in Europe in terms of the potential market for student accommodation operators, not far behind Spain and Italy.

With the new academic year approaching, thousands of students are stepping up their search for accommodation. Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield has identified that, given the current bed provision in Poland, just 10% of all students can be accommodated in university-owned and private halls of residence. Those considering looking for privately rented accommodation will, however, face many challenges. According to Otodom, the availability of rental residential units in many key university towns is shrinking while rents continue to rise, with rental growth at the end of July 2023 averaging 1.5% month-on-month (m/m) and 8.5% year-on-year (y/y).

Student Depot plans to complete two new investments in Warsaw and Łódź in the autumn. Both student residences will open at the beginning of the academic year 2023/2024, thereby increasing Student Depot's portfolio by nearly a thousand beds. The new residents will find fully furnished rooms, coworking areas, multimedia rooms, as well as fitness zones.

Basecamp Student has signed a facility agreement for refinancing their student housing project in Wrocław with a loan in the amount of €36 million, Colliers announced on LinkedIn.

1 Asset Management and Solida Capital have announced a new PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) project in Warsaw. 1 Asset Management will be acting as the lead investor and asset manager, while Solida Capital Team will act as the main developer and minority investor

The PBSA sector has registered another strong year with occupancy rates and rents rising,  according to the newly released Student Housing Annual Report by Bonard. While soaring inflation, interest rates and rising costs in the last quarter of 2022 have slowed down investment transactions, the overall outlook is positive and experts expect the sector to keep growing in the next two years.