Student housing emerges as India's next booming real-estate sector, report says

Knight Frank’s latest study identifies India as a fast-growing market for purpose-built student accommodation, driven by a surge in higher-education enrolments and a demographic bulge of roughly 155 million 18- to 23-year-olds. The Asia-Pacific living-sector has attracted about $21 billion in investment, almost three times the amount recorded a decade ago, and India stands to benefit from supportive policy reforms. While total real-estate fundraising slipped 5.9 %, living-sector capital rose 12 % in 2025, and the firm expects transaction activity to accelerate after a near-10 % year-on-year dip in the first half of 2026.

Tighter visa regulations and soaring costs of studying abroad are steering students toward domestic institutions, and the arrival of leading international universities with offshore campuses is set to increase demand for professionally managed student housing. Shishir Baijal of Knight Frank India attributes the trend to favourable demographics, an expanding higher-education ecosystem and growing student mobility, which should attract more institutional investors and spur development of high-quality student residences.