Australia & New Zealand

AustralianSuper acquired the 253-unit Aster House student accommodation in south Belfast from Harrison Street Asset Management in December, as part of a £560 million UK Living platform focused on high-demand university locations.

Panorama Investment Corporation secured approval from VCAT for a revised student accommodation project at 21-25 Bouverie Street, Carlton, after reducing the development from 29 to 17 storeys and cutting beds from 510 to 324, addressing City of Melbourne concerns on design, heritage, and amenity impacts.

Developer Sirona Urban and landowner Seven Entertainment Pty Ltd have submitted plans for a $170 million, 33-storey student accommodation tower at 18-28 Telethon Avenue, Perth CBD, featuring 854 beds and extensive communal amenities near ECU City campus and RAC Arena.

The Northern Territory Government has amended the NT Planning Scheme 2020 to fast-track the conversion of vacant commercial buildings in Darwin CBD into student accommodation, hostels, guest houses, and worker accommodation, with a two-year window for expedited approvals.

Centurion Accommodation REIT (CAREIT) has completed the acquisition of EPIISOD Macquarie Park, a newly developed 732-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) asset in Sydney, Australia.

Scape is paying $49.5 million for the 2017 square metre site. Scape has picked up a permit-ready student accommodation site in Sydney’s inner south. EG won permitted for the 200-unit complex last year. The 2017

Mirvac has been named preferred developer for the NSW Government’s redevelopment of the 3.6-hectare Sydney Fish Market site at Blackwattle Bay, planning over 1,400 homes including purpose-built student accommodation, alongside commercial, retail, and 26,000 sqm of public domain featuring a new foreshore promenade and boardwalk.

Malaysian developer SKS Group is expanding its build-to-rent portfolio in Perth, securing approvals for a 21-storey project in West Perth and a 20-storey residential tower in Burswood, following its first build-to-rent joint venture at Cockburn with Unilodge subsidiary Essence Community.

Global student accommodation operator Xior Student Housing has acquired a portfolio of 1,200 beds across multiple European cities, expanding its footprint in key university hubs and reinforcing its position in the PBSA market.

Japanese real estate firm Samty Holdings agreed to acquire a majority stake in UniLodge for over $600 million, including its sister platform Essence Communities, marking a significant cross-border expansion in the Asia-Pacific living sectors.