Cushman & Wakefield’s European Living Investor Survey has discovered a strong investor interest in the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector.
While established markets such as the UK, Spain and Germany remain top investment destinations, the report highlights growing interest in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with Romania emerging as a key contender.
The country offers a combination of rising rental demand, strong academic hubs in cities such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca or Timișoara, and competitive development costs, making it increasingly attractive for institutional investors seeking stable yields and greenfield opportunities.
Additionally, portfolio diversification trends and increased appetite for emerging markets are expected to drive further investment into rental and student accommodation projects across Romania.
Strong structural trends, including urbanisation, demographic shifts, and a persistent demand for quality rental housing, continue to fuel the sector’s expansion, which now has share of 20% in the total real estate investment volumes in Europe.
In 2024, investors allocated €33bn to the PRS segment, while student accommodation (PBSA) attracted €6bn, confirming its position as the most promising sub-sector for 2025, thanks to its attractive returns and more flexible regulatory frameworks.
“Romania’s rental housing market is gaining increasing attention from institutional investors, especially in the context of broader European trends supporting the growth of the living sector.
“The rise of urbanisation, the demand for modern rental units, and the attractiveness of university hubs such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca or Timișoara position Romania as an emerging hotspot in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Furthermore, the growing interest in portfolio diversification, together with optimistic prospects for falling interest rates and capital value recovery, are likely to accelerate the development of PRS and PBSA projects locally.”
Vlad Săftoiu, Head of Research, Cushman & Wakefield
A notable example of this trend is AFI Europe, which recently secured a €120m regional loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support developments in Serbia, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic.
The EBRD has identified the existing housing shortages across CEE as one of the key focuses of its strategy, and AFI Europe is a key player in the private rental sector (PRS) in Poland and the Czech Republic, which has also recently expanded in Romania and Serbia.
The European Living Investor Survey 2025 is a comprehensive study conducted by Cushman & Wakefield which analyses market trends, investor priorities, and strategic outlooks across the living sectors in Europe, including PRS, PBSA, co-living, and senior housing.
