The development of purpose-built accommodation in Australia has come off a bull run, almost doubling over the past decade to 132,700 beds, as growth slows over the next five years in a maturing market, a new report by the Property Council of Australia and Urbis shows.

While the sector remains plagued by regulatory uncertainty after the federal Coalition and Greens parties blocked the Labor government’s proposed cap on international student numbers in parliament this week, the biggest restraints were commercial, Torie Brown, executive director of the Property Council of Australia’s Student Accommodation Council said.