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Do you know what student living is? This housing model is increasingly on the rise and has become a great investment. Check out the full article, understand what it is, and the reasons to invest in this area.
Most young people have a great challenge when they finish high school: choosing the university and career they will follow in the future. But, in addition, thousands of Brazilians and foreigners also face another novelty: leaving their parents’ house. Most of this group chooses to study at an institution outside their city, and so the saga begins! How to find ideal housing during the undergraduate years?
Where did the idea of student living come from?
In North America and Europe, the culture of leaving your parents’ home when entering university is very strong. And if young people don’t decide on their own, they end up choosing a university far from their family’s city. In these regions, this change is much more relaxed, since the institutions themselves already offer housing and even food for these young university students.
Besides dealing with homesickness and distance, young people have to face the maintenance of a home, food, health, in addition to, often, bearing all the financial expenses. Therefore, many Brazilians are looking for more practical rental models, and thus, student living has been gaining ground.
What is student living?
With the aim of making life easier for students, the student living is nothing more than a property totally dedicated to the housing of young people. In other words, the structure is planned in detail to make the student’s routine simpler.
The buildings are divided into small apartments or rooms, what was formerly known as a republic. However, the concept is innovative, as it includes very modern and structured environments. In addition, expenses such as water, electricity, internet or telephone can already be included directly in the rent.
With the distance from their families and friends, young people have been looking for student living as an opportunity to make new friends and exchange experiences, cultures and learning. In this sense, the construction of common areas is made precisely with this objective.
Most student housing in Europe and the United States already have high-speed internet, swimming pools, saunas, games room, gym, library, laundry and even restaurants. As in other countries, in Brazil, the student living model could not be left behind.
Today, there are already several buildings with this objective in our country, most of them are located in capitals such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Brasília and Florianópolis. All units are built close to universities and large study centers, with the aim of making the routine of young people more practical and cheaper.
In an upscale neighborhood of São Paulo, for example, a student living room with capacity for 20 residents already has a shared laundry, bike rack, study area, fully equipped kitchen, terrace with barbecue area, in addition to other living spaces. The cost for a young person to move there varies from R$950 to R$1,700 per month. Other options can reach up to R$ 4 thousand per month.
The most interesting thing is that, for the most part, these buildings belong to only one owner, who already built the space with student living in mind. But, unlike the most common one-room apartments or republics, in this business model the management is carried out in a professional and outsourced way.
Why invest in student living?
Even during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil and in the world, one of the markets that maintained rapid growth was real estate. Especially because people spent a lot more time at home. According to the Sales Indicator of the Brazilian Association of Real Estate Developers (Abrainc), the real estate sector reached a record in the launches of new properties in 2020.
In the middle of all this, most of the young people who lived in shared rooms chose to look for a more isolated property. This action is due to two needs: health protection and greater space at home.
According to data from the last census carried out by the Ministry of Education, Brazil now has more than 8.6 million university students. Among them, 25% chose to leave their parents’ house to study. In the last ten years, that number has multiplied.
In other words, more and more young people are looking for their freedom and a safe, modern and pleasant place to live. Students living are among the main options for university students.
Large construction companies, contractors and even real estate investors can find a great opportunity in creating, building and renting student living. As they are built in privileged and strategic locations, and they also have a modern structure and creative spaces, the value of rents per student can be high.
In this way, investors are able to cover all expenses for management and maintenance of common areas and can quickly recover the cost applied to the construction and finishing of the space.
Student living example
As a single owner usually does the construction of the space, one of the opportunities they are finding is the search for investors. Share Student Living, located in São Paulo, created a network with several buildings around the city. To this end, the company raised more than R$214 million in investment funds.
Where to build?
As location is one of the main requirements for young people to choose their new home, this point should be analyzed calmly. Whether in the construction or purchase of a space dedicated to student living, the investor must consider some points:
• Does the region have a transportation infrastructure?
• Is it close to universities?
• Are there leisure spaces for young people?
• Is it a safe location?
• Are there job opportunities in the region?
Investment alternatives
You don’t need to buy an entire building to invest in student living. For those who want to diversify investments, having a property (such as a single apartment) in a location close to universities is already an excellent opportunity to put the concept into practice.
Facilities such as furniture, appliances, leisure areas and other items that make a student’s routine easier are super attractive.
Cidade Pedra Branca, located in Palhoça/SC, is a great example of a region already structured to receive student living housing. Since its beginning, the neighborhood has had the University of South Santa Catarina (Unisul) as its main anchor.
With more than 250 hectares, the space has been gaining mixed commercial and residential developments. Today, the neighborhood already has homes, commerce, services, leisure, work and education. The distances are easy and can be walked or biked, directly influencing the quality of life of young people.
If you are interested in the student living model and you are thinking of investing in a creative and consistent way in the real estate sector, get to know the projects and spaces available in Pedra Branca.