Last year, the sector received an investment of $100 million.

“The purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) market in India is in its infancy, despite the country boasting one of the largest populations of undergraduate students in the world,” Knight Frank said in its ‘Global Student Property 2019’ report.

More than 34 million students are currently enrolled on courses at universities across the country, and this figure is expected to rise, it added. Of the 34 million current students, over 70 per cent are located in the 10 biggest states.

“There are currently 1.6 million PBSA bed spaces in India, a figure which represents only four per cent of the total student enrolment. The majority of this accommodation is operated outside of university control by private owners. Often it is off-campus, of poor quality and with little modern value-add facilities such as WiFi or laundry services,” the report said.

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Knight Frank India National Director of Advisory Services, Saurabh Mehrotra, said the bulk of the student housing demand is currently serviced by the unorganised sector comprising of rented accommodations and private hostels.

“These properties are often below student expectations. The demand-supply gap coupled with strong fundamentals of the sector has led to an increase in investor interest to develop and operate well-located, high-quality purpose built accommodation,” Mehrotra said.