As CEE economies and commercial real estate markets grow in size, they also grow in scope to include new sectors. Student accommodation has been one of the most successful of the new options for investors and developers in Western Europe to consider over the past ten years. The same may happen in the CEE region over the next decade, according to the third annual Colliers-CMS joint CEE Real Estate Compass report which is themed on student housing.

StudentMarketing, the international education and student housing research company, unveiled its rebrand as Bonard at a ceremony in the London icon, The Gherkin.

In last 10 years, student housing has evolved into a highly appealing asset class, now ranked fourth for development and investment by over 200 investment managers. With student numbers growing and revenues delivering as promised, even during economic downturns, it is regarded as a crisis-resilient asset class, good for investment in 2019, according to a new study released by student housing research specialist StudentMarketing.

International Campus Group, a developer, investor and operator of innovative living environments for young people, has appointed Rainer Nonnengässer as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2019. The student housing and micro living expert has more than 20 years’ experience across the finance and real estate sectors. Rainer was most recently the CEO of Youniq, and previously held roles as the CEO of Micro-living at MPC Capital, which operates student apartments under the Staytoo brand, and as a Managing Director at AXA Real Estate.

As we’re approaching the end of the current cycle, investors allocate more capital to more crisis-resilient asset classes, including student housing. Samuel Vetrak, CEO of StudentMarketing, talked to Property Forum about recent developments on the CEE student housing market. Samuel will also present about the student housing asset class and chair a panel discussion at the upcoming Portfolio Property Investment Forum 2018 in Budapest.

Modern, comfortable living units, unlimited access to specially arranged spaces for individual and group learning, a game and entertainment centre, a cinema room, and a kitchen for group cooking. This is a brief description of the Livinn Kraków student house at ul. Romanowicza 4 in Kraków, now underway as part of the revitalization and modernization of the former Telpod factory building.

Zeitgeist Asset Management has purchased an office building at ul. Solec 22 in Warsaw and intends to convert into student halls. The office building has been acquired for a German pension fund from Solec 22 z.o.o.

After the record-breaking year of 2017, the student housing asset class still enjoys development and increased interest from investors. Michal Malecka, Head of Business Development at StudentMarketing talked to Property Forum about the growing popularity of the student housing asset class in Europe.

International Campus and Alkyon Partners GmbH are developing an apartment building for students and young professionals in Kraków, which will be operated by International Campus under the brand "THE FIZZ". Located on the science and technology campus in the up-and-coming, centrally located Zablochie neighbourhood, the apartment building will have approximately 1,000 apartments. In addition, "THE FIZZ Krakow" will include extensive communal areas, 88 underground parking and 33 outdoor parking spaces for cars as well as approximately 970 bicycle parking spaces.

In recent years student housing has emerged as a highly attractive investment product on European markets. With the number of international students set to grow further and supply still limited, the future of this asset class seems bright. Stefan Kolibar, Head of Marketing at StudentMarketing talked about recent market developments.