Is this a (partial )solution to the housing shortage?
Posted: December 13th, 2016, 2:25 pm
My home town is Newcastle - two universities and roughly 60000 students(i think).Recently there has been an explosion of student flat building , i could count a dozen or more blocks with 100+ flats in each and the local paper references a new planning application every week or two.I would estimate that there may have been approaching 10000 purpose- built flats planned or constructed in the last ten years. So what , you say - well Newcastle has traditionally housed its students in conventional 3 or four bedroom family homes in what where , or became , the less salubrious parts of town. It seems to me that these properties will fall from favour as students move into blocks with a recreation room, free wifi, cafes, etc thus releasing several thousand family homes, owned by landlords, to return to their original purpose.So each university city will find itself with an unanticipated supply of lower-end homes. Over the whole country that could add up to, maybe 50000-100000 homes.Now I know it doesn't solve the problem but it is a useful windfall to the housing market .Can others confirm how widespread the phenomenon is?As a side issue anybody else investing in this?(I hold ESP)