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PBSA feasibility, around beds and term.

Purpose-built student accommodation. Bed count, semester occupancy and operator fee drive the model, with the stabilised yield an institutional buyer expects.

  • Inputs7 blocks
  • Outputs8 metrics
  • CashflowMonthly
  • ScenariosPlanned

What this model does

Student accommodation feasibility, end to end.

Decide whether the PBSA site holds up at institutional cap rate. Beds, semester occupancy and operator fee drive the answer, not BTR with smaller rooms.

Calculation flow05 steps
  1. 01

    Scheme

    Site area, GFA, bed count, room mix and amenities captured.

  2. 02

    Cost stack

    Shell $/m², fit-out per bed, amenity and contingency broken out.

  3. 03

    Stabilised NOI

    Rent per bed through semester cycle; operating cost as a build-up.

  4. 04

    Exit value

    Cap rate applied to stabilised NOI for institutional exit.

  5. 05

    Returns

    Stabilised yield, semester occupancy and operating cost ratio returned.

Schema

Every input. Every output. In one view.

The full student accommodation feasibility model schema. 7 input blocks feeding 8 output metrics, with the calculation engine in between.

Inputs07 blocks
  1. 01

    Site and beds

    Site areaGFABed countRoom mixAmenities
  2. 02

    Land

    Land costStamp dutyAcquisition
  3. 03

    Construction

    Shell $/m²Fit-out per bedAmenityContingency
  4. 04

    Operating cost

    Operator feeStaffOutgoingsCapex reserve
  5. 05

    Revenue

    Rent per bedSemester occupancySummer occupancyAncillary
  6. 06

    Finance and exit

    LVRInterestCap rateExit value
  7. 07

    Programme

    ConstructionRamp-upSemester cycleStabilisation
Outputs08 metrics
Primary outputAt base case
Stabilised yield5.6%
MetricValue
  • Rent per bed$340 /wk
  • Stabilised NOI$8.4M
  • Exit value$150.0M
  • Semester occupancy94%
  • Operating cost ratio30%
  • Development profit$22.4M
  • Equity IRR14.2%

Engine logic

Two engines. Scenarios and cashflow.

The two pieces that separate the student accommodation feasibility from a spreadsheet. Scenarios that share one project, and a monthly cashflow wired to every input.

Scenarios01 / 02

Multiple scenarios, one project

Switchable in a click. No copied files.

  1. 01

    Bed count and rent per bed as scenario levers.

  2. 02

    Semester and summer occupancy per scenario.

  3. 03

    Operator fee and staff cost per scenario.

  4. 04

    Cap rate sensitivity on one project.

Cashflow02 / 02

Monthly cashflow, fully connected

Every input touches the schedule.

  1. 01

    Cashflow runs through construction and ramp-up across semesters.

  2. 02

    Semester occupancy and summer occupancy modelled separately.

  3. 03

    Operating cost split by operator fee, staff and outgoings.

  4. 04

    Exit value applied at the cap rate at stabilisation.

Excel replacement

Where the workbook quietly fails.

Every row is a recurring failure mode of the student accommodation feasibility spreadsheet, and how the model handles it once.

SpreadsheetPopurise model
  • 01Modelled as BTR with smaller roomsModelled around beds, semester and operator
  • 02Semester cycle ignoredSemester and summer occupancy as separate inputs
  • 03Ramp-up as a single monthRamp-up across semesters as a real input

Use and verify

What it decides. What to check first.

The decisions the student accommodation feasibility is built to support, alongside the things to verify before you trust it on a live deal.

What it decidesUse cases
  1. 01

    Right-size the bed count

    Bed count versus build cost. Margin reflects density.

  2. 02

    Model the semester cycle

    Semester occupancy and summer occupancy as separate inputs.

  3. 03

    Tune the operator fee

    Operator fee, staff and outgoings as live inputs. The ratio is honest.

  4. 04

    Pressure-test the cap rate

    Cap rate sensitivity in one place.

Pre-flight checklist05 checks

  • Bed count and rent per bed as primary inputs.

  • Semester and summer occupancy as separate inputs.

  • Operating cost as a build-up, not a flat ratio.

  • Ramp-up modelled across semesters.

  • Cap rate sensitivity as a scenario.

Worth checking before you stake a live deal on the student accommodation feasibility.Register interest
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Questions

Student accommodation feasibility, answered.

How Popurise handles the student accommodation feasibility.

Is the PBSA model live today?

Not yet. Popurise is live for residential. Student accommodation is on the expansion roadmap.

How is the semester cycle modelled?

Semester and summer occupancy as separate inputs. Stabilised NOI follows the cycle.

Does it handle operator fees?

Yes. Operator fee, staff and outgoings live as separate inputs.

Can I model on-campus and off-campus?

Both. The model is agnostic to ownership structure.

Shape student accommodation feasibility in Popurise.

Tell us how your team models this sector today. We are building it with the developers who will use it.

Register interest View residential model