The report “The Evolution of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation in Portugal” from Savills noted that the student accommodation market in the country has seen a record level of investment; however, there remains a shortage of supply, particularly in the main university cities.
Between 2019 and 2025, investment in student accommodation reached €1.2 billion, and of the total amount, around €942 million corresponded to the sale of portfolios, mainly of assets already in operation.
Portugal has 26,000 beds in student accommodation, with around half located in university and college halls of residence, and the remainder in private PBSA projects. This figure translates to a coverage rate of 5.80% nationwide, leaving the country trailing behind other European markets.
“According to our 2026 investor survey, PBSA remains the most sought-after sector in the European Operational Real Estate (OpRE) segment for the second consecutive year. Portugal has become one of the most attractive markets for investors in student accommodation, and we expect the region to continue strengthening its position, given the supply and demand fundamentals and the yield levels currently available in the market”, stated Dominic Orchard, Director at Savills OCM.
Demand continues to grow despite limited supply: in the 2024/2025 academic year, Portugal had 456,032 higher education students, an increase of 1.74% on the previous year, with 80,065 of these being international students, representing a rise of 3.35% compared to 2023/2024.
The country also boasts business schools ranked among the top 100 in Europe in the Financial Times’ European Business Schools ranking, boosting its international profile and contributing to the growth in the number of foreign students and demand for accommodation; it is in the main university cities, such as Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, that this pressure is most evident.
On the one hand, halls of residence have very high occupancy rates and rents continue to rise. On the other hand, the traditional rental market also has fewer one-bedroom flats, and studio flats are also priced beyond students’ budgets.
According to Savills, and despite this context, the market continues to expand, with projects in the pipeline set to create around 2,000 new beds in private student halls of residence between 2026 and 2027 – yet this still fails to meet the growing demand for student accommodation.
Lisbon and Porto account for a significant proportion of this new supply. Lisbon currently has over 4,500 beds in private halls of residence, with a further 1,000 expected to be added by 2025/2026. In Porto, there are already over 5,400 operational beds, and around 1,600 more are planned for the coming years.
On the operators’ side, the market is dominated by a few large international groups. Livensa Living, Xior, MiCampus and LIV Student have been expanding their offering across the country.
The new student residences, featuring facilities such as study rooms, gyms, shared kitchens, laundry rooms, communal areas and 24-hour security, have begun to represent “minimum requirements”, particularly for international students.
