Student housing: A booming market or a bad investment?

With an increasing number of foreign and local students in Lebanon, real estate developers have tapped into a new market. Private student dorms, hostels, hotels and furnished apartments ranging from the five-star to the budget are opening on an almost monthly basis, ready to cater to the ever-widening range of needs and demands of the student population. Yet real estate developers are divided as to the commercial viability of such projects, saddled as they are with low returns and high wear and tear. There is also the specter of an increase in supply of on-campus accommodation. But for the time being at least, many students are opting for the off campus option. Taking their business elsewhere The need for privacy tops the list of requirements for many students, in addition to the desire for space and cleanliness. With some rent prices off campus comparable to those of the student dorms,