Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) is a type of private student housing and a maturing, high promise asset class. It focuses on providing high-standard micro-apartments (or studios) combined with shared living spaces.
At COMENTS, we differentiate from normal PBSA through our COliving approach and unique space-efficient design. With eco-friendly, prefabricated micro-apartments clustered around communal areas, we create social exchange zones for residents.
Focusing on what is essential, COMENTS is free from additional facilities students easily find in the neighbourhood of thriving cities (cinema rooms, gyms, coworking, among others). Instead of paying for unnecessary services, living here equals a minimalist lifestyle centered on wellbeing, mental health awareness and social impact. COMENTS is the student COliving solution for academic cities of tomorrow.
In Germany, 2.9 million students need to be accommodated but only 9.4% of them are able to rent a purpose-built apartment. In the UK the coverage of PBSA is around 30%, which shows the huge market growth potential for Germany. Even more alarming is that Splendid Research (a market research institute from Hamburg) shows that almost one out of four young adults (23%) between 18 and 30 often or always feel lonely.
COMENTS also conducted dedicated research with over 1400 students from different German universities to research the demand of the new type of PBSA - student coliving. Most of the respondents support the concept and can imagine moving into one of the residential units if some basic requirements are met.
In response to this shortage of supply, rising rental prices for student accommodation and increasing loneliness, COMENTS is developing a new student housing concept based on COliving, shared economy, and sustainable construction to solve these current problems.
