2017: the year for students to live like millionaires as universities chase fee-paying admissions
- Student schemes now offering everything from smart TVs with Netflix to beauty treatment rooms (Properties of the World)
- University acceptance rates and EU student acceptance rates at record highs (UCAS)
- Central storage for students with plentiful belongings at The Dye Works in Bradford
The UCAS December 2016 End of Cycle Report has highlighted the changing relationship between UK universities and their students.
Outgoing UCAS Chief Executive Mary Curnock Cook has observed how the “combination of higher fees and the removal of central controls on recruitment numbers” has led to universities chasing students, rather than students chasing places. Acceptance rates are at a record high, with 535,200 students placed in higher education through UCAS in 2016.
Growing student numbers are, naturally, driving the need for more student accommodation and competition is fierce amongst developers to present the most exciting homes for students in the UK. In 2017, the trend for developing student accommodation with outstanding shared facilities will be taken to the next level.
According to Jean Liggett, CEO of visionary property investment consultancy, Properties of the World,
“Students in 2017 will have an unrivalled choice of both universities and student accommodation. The landscape has shifted dramatically for both over the past few years, with the result that universities and property developers are doing all they can to court students. This has impacted on accommodation by opening up a vast array of attractive new options – 2017 students can live like millionaires in comparison to the students of just a decade ago!”
At The Dye Works, on the doorstep of the University of Bradford, residents can enjoy spacious, self-contained apartments with hotel-style features including keyless door entry, a concierge and safes in their rooms.
Students with extra belongings can take advantage of the secure, central storage facility. The feature is sure to appeal to international students bringing over a whole year’s worth of belongings and is certainly timely, with EU student acceptances up by 7% in 2016 (the highest figure on record, at 31,400 according to UCAS).
Uniquely, The Dye Works provides each resident with a large screen smart TV with internet access, allowing students to log into to their favourite streaming applications. There’s also an on-site gym and salon rooms available for external providers to deliver a range of beauty and wellness treatments. When not at uni, students can work out, indulge in a massage, or enjoy the latest TV blockbusters, all without leaving the house – a standard of student living that would simply have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
The Dye Works stands out in particular due to the ratio of beds to leisure facilities. Properties of the World’s Jean Liggett explains,
“The Dye Works offers something more than many student schemes. Quite often you come across vast developments with hundreds of cluster flats and just a solitary pool table and a couple of running machines to share. The leisure facilities at the Dye Works have been thought through very carefully from the students’ perspective, with real consideration for the lifestyle benefits that the shared social spaces and personalised elements will create.”
Investment in The Dye Works is available from £55,000, with circa 8% NET yield.
For more information, visit www.propertiesoftheworld.co.uk or call +44 (0)20 7624 5555.