StuRents Q2-2026 Webinar: Poll results

We recently hosted our Q2-2026 webinar, where we explored the latest student accommodation trends and insights and shared our outlook on what lies ahead for the industry. Here, we look at sector sentiment through attendee poll answers and compare them to the results of our Q1-2026 webinar – hosted in March.

If you missed the webinar, you can request access to the full recording here.

Sector sentiment and attendee poll

Note: The analysis is based on approximately 100 responses for each question.

The first question for attendees was their current expectation for PBSA rental growth in the 2026-27 academic year. Just over half of the respondents believed there would be 1-2% growth, with 24% taking a more reserved view at less than 1% growth. While around 23% of people were anticipating growth of 3-4%, none of the respondents had expectations of 5% or above. While there is some optimism in the responses, the general outlook is more conservative – reflective of wider trends we’re seeing nationally.

These results are similar to those from the Q1 webinar, where 52% of respondents believed there would be 1-2% growth, 16% expected less than 1%, 30% expected 3-4% and just 2% expected 5% or more.

Source: StuRents Q2-2026 Webinar

Moving to the topic of HMO rental growth, we asked attendees about their expectations for 2026-27. Less than 1% growth received 2% of votes, with 40% of attendees expecting growth of 1-2%. 33% believe there will be 3-4% growth, while just 5% think the figure will be 5% or more.

This question wasn’t asked in the previous webinar.

Source: StuRents Q2-2026 Webinar

Finally, we asked webinar attendees how their view of the student accommodation market more generally has shifted in the last quarter. While 18% of respondents have become more optimistic, neutral or pessimistic responses make up the vast majority of votes, with more than half feeling negative about the market overall. This follows a tough year for occupancy, as well as an unclear picture of where student demand is heading.

These results are very similar to those from the previous webinar, where just 15% of respondents were feeling more optimistic.

Source: StuRents Q2-2026 Webinar

Combining responses into an aggregated view (by assigning numerical values to optimistic, neutral and pessimistic responses), there was a pessimistic sentiment to the student accommodation market overall, with around 66% of respondents indicating negative or pessimistic sentiment across all three questions.

This is a slightly less negative result than in the last webinar, where 74% of respondents were feeling pessimistic overall. However, the proportion of optimistic attendees has decreased from 25% to 14% this quarter.

Source: StuRents Q2-2026 Webinar

While data indicates that planning activity and investment have been slowing, and many markets continue to lease slower compared to previous years, some markets are still facing a real shortage in student beds. The right kind of data is critical in identifying these city or intra-city locations and capitalising on the opportunities early.

For more information about our proprietary, highly granular data covering UK student accommodation, contact the StuRents Research team today. Book a demo of our Data Portal to find out how you can have up-to-the-minute university housing insights at your fingertips, or get in touch with us about our Occupancy Survey.