Adelaide student accommodation demand still high, industry says
There is still a shortage of student accommodation in Adelaide, an industry leader said, despite uncertainty being caused by the looming university merger.
Adelaide is short between 2000 and 2500 student accommodation beds according to the South Australian operations manager of Scape Australia.
Speaking at a Property Council of Australia event last week, Timothy Bridges said demand remained strong for the housing type.
“Occupancy is strong,” he said.
“What we are seeing though is a slight shift to a lower price point. We’ve started to see Adelaide become the more affordable option.
“You’re never going to not have students want to come here. It’s a very appealing prospect and it’s a great city for study; Adelaide universities work hard to attract those students.”
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His comments come ahead of the 2026 merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.
Scape’s Bridges said there was a “little bit of uncertainty offshore” about the merger which will create Adelaide University.
“The university merger is hard to explain to some of our international counterparts,” he said.
“For us, for lots of the other brands, it is very much business as usual. We’re excited for a significant shift in South Australia and hopefully putting Adelaide on a much bigger stage.
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“There are obviously some new builds – everyone has seen in the media – but Adelaide is about 2000 to 2500 beds short of what we actually need.”
Scape Australia South Australian operations manager Timothy Bridges. Photo: Supplied
Building more student accommodation would take pressure off the CBD rental market too, he said.
“It will also attract new students and it will keep universities continuing on that journey,” he said.
It follows significant growth in the industry, Bridges said, with common rooms, facilities, and community-building core to the new builds going up around Australia
“The rooms are more purpose-built, they’re more functional, they’re easier to use, they’re easier to clean, they’re easier to decorate and style,” he said.
“The communal areas – there’s every sort of communal area you can think of; games rooms, dance studios, gaming rooms with PCs, sewing rooms – there’s all of these things to try and bring students out of their rooms to get them to find a community within the building.
“We understand that students don’t always want to go out and do things, so the buildings are trying to tailor for that.”
