2026年波兰学生公寓

Knight Frank’s overview of the key development and investmentthemes in the Polish student property market Student housing in Poland Poland’s PBSA sector continues to demonstrate strong growth momentum, supported by a structural undersupplyof student accommodation. A growing student population and a shrinking stock of public dormitories aresustaining a significant supply-demand imbalance, keeping occupancy levels close to 97% and supporting furtherrental growth. This favourable market dynamic continues to attract development activity, while the sector’s scaleand robust demand fundamentals point to substantial long-term growth potential. SUPPLY Theprivate student accommodation(PBSA)sector in Polandcontinues to expand rapidly. At the end of H1 2026, the countryofferedapproximately 17,900 PBSA beds,representing a 24%increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Over the last12 months alone, nine new private student residences were deliveredacross Poland’s largest academic centres. The growth momentum is set to continue. Nearly 3,900 additionalPBSA beds are scheduled for delivery by the start of the 2027/2028academic year, further expanding the institutional student housingstock. The opposite trend is evident within the public dormitory segment,wherecapacity continues to decline.Ongoing refurbishmentprogrammes aimed at improving accommodation standards oftenrequire lower room densities, resulting in a gradual reduction of theoverall bed stock. As a consequence, the total number of student accommodation bedsin Poland declined by approximately 2,000 over the past year andcurrently stands at around 110,300 beds across 429 student housingproperties, including both public and private schemes. The deliveryof new PBSA assets has therefore not been sufficient to offset thereductionin public dormitory capacity,leaving overall studenthousing availability constrained. Publicuniversity dormitories continue to account for the vastmajority of existing student housing stock. However, private studentaccommodation currently represents 16% of total beds, with its shareincreasing steadily. Kraków and Warsaw remain the largest PBSA markets in Poland,together accounting for more than half (53%) of existing stock. Otherkey regional markets include Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź and Tricity. Kraków currently offers nearly 5,150 PBSA beds, equivalent to 29% ofthe national stock, while Warsaw accounts for approximately 3,400beds, or 19% of total supply. This ranking is expected to reverse overthe next two years, with around 2,000 additional beds planned in thecapital, positioning Warsaw as the country’s largest PBSA market bycapacity. Tricity is also set for rapid expansion, with stock expected to morethan double by the end of 2028 to exceed 2,600 beds. In contrast,Wrocław’s supply is projected to remain stable over the next twoyears. MAJOR OPERATORS The Polish PBSA market remains dominated by two operators:Student Depot, which offers nearly 4,600 beds, and Xior StudentHousing, with a portfolio comprising approximately 4,000 beds.Other notable market participants include Milestone, SHED Living,StudentSpace, Zeitraum Student Housing, Start Park, Collegia, andReside Etudes. In addition, the Polish market comprises numerous standaloneassets operated by local providers. Collectively, these account forapproximately 12% of the total PBSA stock. KEY ACADEMIC CENTRES Thelargest academic centres in Poland remain Warsaw,withapproximately260,000 students,followed by Kraków(136,000students),Wrocław(132,000 students)and Poznań(126,000students). More than 60,000 students are also enrolled in the Tricity,Łódź, and Lublin. Amongthe largest higher education institutions in Poland aretheUniversity of Warsaw,with approximately 39,900 students,the Jagiellonian University in Kraków with 33,400 students, andAdam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, attended by around 29,300students. DEMAND Thenumber of students in Poland continues to increase andcurrently exceeds 1.32 million, representing a year-on-year increaseof approximately 43,000 students. Domestic students account for the vast majority (92%) of the studentpopulation. Their number increased by 4% year-on-year to morethan 1.2 million. Thenumber of international students stands at approximately102,000, representing a 6% year-on-year decline, although it remainsthe fourth-highest level recorded over the last decade. The decreasewasparticularly visible among students from Ukraine,whosenumbers rose sharply following the outbreak of the war with Russia.Nevertheless, Ukrainians still account for nearly half (46%) of allinternational students enrolled at Polish universities. The second-largest group comprises students from Belarus (11%), followed byTurkey (5%). A significant share of foreign students also comesfromEuropean Union countries participating in the Erasmus+exchange programme. Importantly from a local market perspective,approximately one-third of international students attend highere