Student property investors can look to the future

People looking to invest in UK property for the purposes of buy-to-let would do well to turn an eye towards the ever expanding market which is available to those who have made rental homes available for students.

According to Knight Knox International, the rise in student fees which was brought in last September, under which students from England and Wales have to pay fees of £9,000 per year to secure a place on a course, has not had the predicted effect, where people expected to see applicant numbers drop.

In fact, many universities are now seeing the effect of having more applications than they can even handle in their own accommodation.

This means that those who are looking to lend out a buy-to-let property will have a much larger pool of prospective tenants looking to move into their property.

Knight Knox International said that an increase in the number of international students coming to the UK also means that landlords can see a higher level of rental yield than in the past. These types of student have not been affected in the same way as Brits because universities in the UK have long charged overseas students considerably more than home-grown students.

In 2011, Knight Knox said that the rental market with regard to students was worth something in the region of £740 million, proving that it can be a lucrative market for landlords with property to rent, especially with so many affluent overseas students coming into the UK.

It has also recently been advised by Peter Mindenhall, researcher with IPINGlobal, that those who are renting out their properties to students, or are looking to invest in the market should make sure that they are purchasing modern properties, as students often look for the latest design trends when renting, especially as a group.