Student Accommodation Boom

Tertiary education is one of the Australia’s biggest exports, only behind coal and iron ore. But where do all these international students want to stay? Currently, the Sunshine Coast only has two dedicated student accommodation facilities, neither positioned in or close to the city centre (Maroochydore). Many students are renting rooms in family homes, which are not an ideal location for student living. The Sunshine Coast needs to identify strategic locations for dedicated student accommodation so that international students can enjoy the natural amenity that the region has to offer.

 

Courtesty of The Australian Newspaper- 28th October 2014

BUILDING houses on city fringes may be counterproductive to solving Australia’s supply shortage, since most people want to live near the city, a Reserve Bank official says.

The RBA’s head of financial stability, Luci Ellis, says building approvals are running at an “extraordinary” annual rate of 200,000, driven by low interest rates and demand from very strong population growth.

But that population growth was coming mainly from international students, given tertiary education is one of Australia’s biggest exports after coal and iron ore, she said.

“It’s little appreciated just how concentrated that population growth has become in students and former students,” Dr Ellis told a forum in Sydney last night.

“Where do students want to live? Well it’s not big family homes on the fringe, it’s apartments in the inner areas near the universities. Read more.