23
Nov
Student buy-to-let an "attractive" investment
The buy-to-let sector for student properties is an increasingly
attractive investment prospect, an expert has claimed.
Nick Harvey-Jones, a partner at Ingman Jones, commented that income
stability in the student housing market made it a safe, as well as
lucrative, bet for investors.
"As far as income goes, it is still growing and it is very stable
compared to the commercial real estate world," he said.
Mr Harvey-Jones explained that the primary reason for buying a
property to rent out was to generate an income. With student
houses, this is easily achievable as the tenants pay a deposit and
do not expect a rent-free period or other incentive like many
commercial tenants.
The UNITE Group published an interim management statement on
November 19th that demonstrated that sentiment towards student
property was improving among institutional investors.
Like-for-like rental growth reached 9.7 per cent in the four and a
half months from July 1st 2009.
Mr Harvey-Jones also pointed out that financial institutions are
prepared to offer buy-to-let mortgages for student homes in
addition to providing loans to support development in the
sector.
