The 2021-2022 academic year should see European student housing return to normal as students flock back to universities.

Brian Welsh, head of student housing at Round Hill Capital, says that applications to universities have been better than in recent years, which is set to translate into demand for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).

“The vast majority of universities across Europe are growing their numbers,” says Welsh. “And the squeeze on the wider residential market in many locations — partly driven by increasing numbers of students and graduate retention rates that have put extra pressure on housing — has not abated.”

A total of 682,010 applicants made 2,955,990 applications for a place at a higher education institution in the UK for the comin