New research from commercial real estate firm JLL found that around 40,000 student beds are currently registered with the Rental Tenancy Board.
However, strong birth rates in the 2000s, as well as a rise in immigration, is expected to increase the number of student beds needed here.
JLL estimates that a further 40,000 beds will be required to meet this demand, with the population of those aged between 20 to 24 in Ireland expected to jump by 26pc from 2020 to 2030.
However, just 2,000 beds are currently under construction.
JLL called for the ongoing investment in purpose-built student accommodation here.
“There is a compelling need to provide incentives that inspire forward investments in the sector to boost supply in line with future demand,” Niall Gargan, JLL’s head of research in Ireland, said.
“Amplifying supply will not only cater to the growing needs of student accommodation but also help ease the pressure on the broader rental market.”
Across Europe, there is a total shortage of around three million beds currently, according to the report.
Around 40pc of the unmet demand across Europe – which represents around 1.2 million beds – is concentrated on 40 cities most popular with students, including London, Paris and Barcelona.
The number of extra beds needed in the most popular locations is expected to rise by 8pc despite a current pipeline of over 130,000 beds.
JLL attributed this to the growing number of domestic and international students.
Over the past decade, the number of students in the EU and UK jumped by 15pc to reach around 21.7 million in the 2022/2023 academic year.
Despite this, there are just 2.2 million purpose-built student accommodation beds available in European markets, with 40pc funded by private institutional investors.
The remaining 60pc of the beds are publicly owned, subsidised or available for only certain cohorts of students.
JLL senior analyst Dominika Mocova said that forward investment will drive growth in the purpose-built student accommodation sector.
“We have started seeing this trend in the past couple of years despite rising construction costs with investors and developers becoming more creative to hedge higher costs,” she said.
“However, greater market transparency and understanding from planning authorities is necessary to unlock the full potential.”
