HousingAnywhere addresses student housing challenges and solutions with key industry leaders

• HousingAnywhere, Europe's largest mid-term rental platform, joins forces with industry leaders at The Class Conference Barcelona to find collaborative solutions to the student housing crisis.

• According to its case study, lack of supply intensifies in the popular study destinations with on average 175 people in the Netherlands, and 25 in Spain competing to rent one single property.

Rotterdam, November 9th 2023 - HousingAnywhere, Europe's largest mid-term rental platform, has participated in The Class Conference Barcelona today together with over 800 industry leaders in the student living sector. High-profile decision-makers of more than 250 organisations have gathered at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona to address the key industry challenges and to advocate both immediate and long-term solutions to solve the European student housing crisis for the future generation.

Jim Bijwaard, Chief Operating Officer at HousingAnywhere, has shared his foresights during the panel ‘Pressure Points: Addressing The Student Housing Crisis’:

“Both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are experiencing a severe imbalance between students’ demand for a new home and the supply of rental housing. We also see worrying signals that countries that are gaining traction in popularity may experience the similar painful consequences of these countries’ success in attracting mobile students and young professionals. Spain is a prime example. We strongly encourage other European countries to learn from these cautionary tales and include housing solutions as one of the core topics when emphasising the country’s talent attraction and retention competencies”.

While housing affordability across Europe is a major pressure point, HousingAnywhere recommends the starting point should be housing availability, the Netherlands being one example. According to HousingAnywhere data, the number of users searching for an accommodation in 2023 reached an average of 175 per property listed in the platform in the Netherlands. This has increased by 154% compared to the pre-covid figure in 2019, confirming the imbalance between demand and supply in the Netherlands. This is a primary driver for the average rental price of all property types in a popular city such as Rotterdam increasing by 27%, while room rental prices alone are increasing by 37% compared to 2019.

In Spain, there are 25 tenants competing per property in 2023, registering an increase of 8.7% compared to 2019, with a city like Barcelona recording an average 6% price increase when compared to last year, as depicted in HousingAnywhere’s quarterly International Rent Index.

Demand-Supply Imbalance in the Netherlands. Number of Tenants Per Published Listing. Demand-supply imbalance = Yearly unique visitors setting a search for accommodation in the Netherlands / Yearly published listings in the Netherlands.

Demand-Supply Imbalance in Spain. Number of Tenants Per Published Listing. Demand-supply imbalance = Yearly unique visitors setting a search for accommodation in Spain / Yearly published listings in Spain.

Kelly-Anne Watson, Managing Director of The Class Foundation, on industry collaboration: "The Class Conference is an event that aims to unite all stakeholders in addressing the pressing challenge of providing quality student accommodation and improving the student experience overall. Our mission is to foster collaboration and innovation, and Barcelona, our host city for this year's conference, sets the bar high for both. We're excited to work with the city's leadership and local stakeholders to facilitate meaningful partnerships and drive positive change in the realm of student housing. Together, we can make a real impact and ensure that every student has access to quality accommodation."

Among the immediate solutions to ease the student housing shortage discussed in the panel, a more fluid policy that can enable the change of purposes of re-usable spaces, such as offices to residentials, was highlighted. The industry also requires long-term solutions with a holistic and collaborative approach from policymakers, higher education institutions, property providers, and technology players, to promote the investment in the housing infrastructure dedicated to students to ensure students’ maximum learning outcome for the generations to come.

About HousingAnywhere

HousingAnywhere is Europe’s largest mid-term rental platform. With Kamernet and Studapart under its umbrella, it represents three fast-growing brands with over 30 million yearly unique visitors combined, 160,000+ properties available for rent and 100,000+ tenants securing their new homes, based on the 2022 performance. HousingAnywhere serves young professionals and students, primarily aged between 18 and 35, connecting them with accommodation providers. Through its advanced technology platform, tenants rent accommodation for 3 to 12 months outside of their country of origin. Headquartered in Rotterdam, HousingAnywhere operates in most European cities and recently expanded to key cities in the US, establishing a presence in over 125 cities. Driven by the mission to enable people to live wherever and however they choose thanks to a flexible renting experience, the technology scale-up employs 340 professionals globally.

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