Posts with tag: foreign students London

Foreign Student Paying £21,000 Per Month for London Flat

An American fashion student has signed up to rent a flat that costs £21,000 per month, possibly the most expensive student property in London.

The student will pay £5,250 a week for the three-bedroom apartment in Mayfair. The luxury block is being marketed at wealthy foreign students.

A recent study found that there are 67,500 international students attending London universities and they spend £1.36 billion a year on living expenses. In recent years, the luxury accommodation market has been growing, designed to attract the wealthiest overseas students, whose parents often pay a year’s rent upfront.

The nine-storey Fountain House development’s six flats feature stone-floored bathrooms, a 24-hour concierge service and the local grocery shops are Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

The three-bed apartment is spread over three floors, which are connected by a bespoke glass central staircase.

Estate agent Peter Wetherell is marketing the development, expecting them all to be let for the new academic year. The agency has sent details of the homes to its database of overseas students, and so far, 80% of inquiries have come from abroad.

It says the area is attractive to students from the Middle East, the USA, Asia and Africa, who can afford to pay over £2,000 a week for accommodation while studying at the London College of Fashion, the University of Westminster and the London School of Economics.

Wetherell says the flats are “perfect for a wealthy student wanting a London home”. Adding: “This is part of Mayfair’s residential revival; these properties are reverting back after decades of use as offices.”1

Recently, the National Union of Students (NUS) reported a crisis in university accommodation, with rents rising by a quarter in just three years.

Private providers of student halls are moving into luxury accommodation, targeting overseas students.

1 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/28/21000-a-month-student-flat-fountain-house-london

Wealthy Foreign Students Spend £1,500 Per Week on Rent

Wealthy foreign students are spending over five times the average letting agent’s starting salary on luxury accommodation in London.

Students from China, the USA and India can spend up to £1,500 per week to live in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and South Kensington.

Over a year, this equates to a huge £78,000. According to the National Careers Service website, the average letting agent’s starting salary is only £15,000 per year.

Wealthy Foreign Students Spend £1,500 Per Week on Rent

Wealthy Foreign Students Spend £1,500 Per Week on Rent

Lettings firm EJ Harris conducted the research, finding that the 107,000 international students currently studying in the capital pay a total of £600m in rent.

Managing Director at EJ Harris, Elizabeth Harris, says: “There are over 100,000 international students studying and living in London, and their numbers are rising.

“University applications from overseas students are up by 18% since 2010 and up by 30% for the capital’s best universities.

“In our experience, international students make for extremely good tenants. They are very studious and take their studies in London extremely seriously.

“As tenants, they tend to be quiet, hard-working and tidy. Smoking tends to be the only common vice.”1

EJ Harris’ figures used data from its own client instructions over the past three years and Government statistics, showing that 40,000 of the foreign students studying in London are from continental Europe and 67,000 are from the rest of the world.

The largest proportion of international students is from China, at 18%. Of the rest, 9% are from the USA, 7% from India, 5% from Hong Kong and 4% from both Malaysia and Nigeria.

Other significant countries are Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Pakistan and Canada.

EJ Harris found that around 20% of its inner London clients were students, of which 50% were foreign.

The students are typically aged between 18-22 and the research suggests that most accommodation was paid for “by the bank of mum and dad”.1

Some students receive grants from their respective countries.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/wealthy-foreign-students-spending-1500-a-week-on-rent/