Build costs choke off new student housing pipeline

Britain’s biggest student accommodation developer has warned new purpose-built student housing will slow sharply over the next two to three years because soaring construction costs have made most schemes financially unviable.
Unite Group chief executive Joe Lister said higher build costs, tighter regulation and weaker investment values meant new projects no longer stacked up in most regional markets, with developers now needing rents above £300 a week to justify construction outside