Wee Hur Capital chief executive says the student accommodation glut in Brisbane has peaked and more development is on its way

Brisbane’s student accommodation glut has peaked and a leading developer has forecast more construction on the way to cope with rising numbers.

A LEADING offshore student accommodation developer believes the sector is gearing up for a new housing investment push in Queensland after suffering a glut of new buildings.

Wee Hur Capital chief executive Wee Ping Goh, who yesterday officially opened Australia’s largest student accommodation facility in Woolloongabba, said the company has no current construction plans in southeast Queensland.

“The market was saturated two years ago when we started to build and it has been relatively quiet since then,” he said.

“It won’t be until probably another four years, if I decided to press the button now, to build a new one so by that time it should be good.

“International student numbers coming to Brisbane continue to grow so it’s a no-brainer to be honest.”

Wee Hur’s $216 million twin towers — UniLodge Park Central located at 8 Gillingham St — has 1578 beds across the 25-storey Sky Tower and 13-storey Metro Tower.

The property was close to full occupancy at the time of opening.

Wee Hur Capital, the wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Stock Exchange-listed Wee Hur Holdings, plans to invest $700 million in student accommodation in Australia, with sites in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide targeting 5000 beds.

UniLodge Park Central was Wee Hur Capital’s first development to be completed in Australia.

Mr Goh said any new student accommodation construction would be focused on available land and the UniLodge park Central site.

“We have additional land that we can unlock but we are waiting to see how this particular asset performs and we are convinced we will be able to do more,” he said.

“If we were going to build we would be looking at between 500 and 1000 beds to prevent saturation in this area.”