Student housing sector picking up in Chennai

Sanjay Chugh

CHENNAI: With education sector going completely online in the past two years amid the pandemic, student housing sector across all cities, including Chennai, suffered a major blow. Now, with normalcy returning and colleges reopening, we are once again seeing a pick-up in demand.

This will only grow in the times to come. But, we will see the organised players gaining more prominence amid growing demand because of the facilities they will provide and the much-needed amenities along with safety and security. Given that there are only a handful of organised players in the market, this segment offers opportunity to many newer players to enter the fray. These will be more regulated and provide quality facilities to the discerning many.

The reason why we see demand growing here is that hostels and residential facilities in educational institutes can only meet a fraction of the student housing demand leading to an untapped need in the student housing category. Providing a home away from home, these purpose-built accommodations come with spacious rooms, top-end security systems, fresh meals, laundry and housekeeping services, gym and entertainment. Another advantage in Chennai is right pricing. The rents are quite affordable. Chennai offers sound public transport facilities. (The author is city head, Chennai, Anarock Group)