Will a cap on international students make housing more affordable?

The Federal Government is proposing a cap on international students in 2025, with legislation recently put forth to limit enrolments to 270,000. This would comprise 145,000 university students and 95,000 vocational education training (VET) placements. Many people in the tertiary education sector argue that this is an immigration policy designed to curb new arrivals amid a housing crisis.

The Federal Government has been criticised for a record surge in immigration following the pandemic, which has placed additional pressure on the rental market. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 737,000 migrants arrived in Australia in FY23, up from 427,000 in FY22. Among them were 554,000 people on temporary visas, 283,000 of which were international students.

REA economist Anne Flaherty said the post-pandemic surge in overseas students in 2023 and 2024 coincided with building sector constraints that exacerbated the housing undersupply and contributed to rapidly rising rents and record-low vacancy rates over the past two years.

“There is no question that high levels of migration have been a key driver of the rental crisis,” Ms Flaherty said. “Rent growth from surging student numbers can be seen in “student suburbs”. Examples include Clayton, home to Australia’s largest university Monash, which saw unit rents up 20% over the 12 months ending July, and Glebe, near the University of Sydney which saw rents up 17%.”

Ms Flaherty said the new cap in 2025 would have little immediate impact on the market, given the students here now will stay for several more years while they complete their studies.

The Federal Government wants universities to provide more purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) to free up homes in the strained private rental market. CBRE estimates that only 6 percent of students currently have the opportunity to live on-campus or in PBSA close to their universities.

In a new report on student accommodation, CBRE estimates there are 223,000 overseas students in Sydney and 334,000 in Melbourne. It estimates an unmet demand for 25,000 PBSA beds in the University of Sydney and UTS catchment alone and 15,000 beds in the University of Melbourne and RMIT catchment.

The Student Accommodation Council says there are 7,700 new PBSA beds in the pipeline for 2026 but 84,000 are needed. The council’s executive director, Torie Brown, said governments need to incentivise foreign investors to build more student housing. “Ridiculously high state taxes on international investors who build PBSA continue to be a handbrake on new development,” she said. “International students have been unfairly blamed for the rental crisis … There are more domestic students in rental homes than international – yet no one is suggesting we ban share-houses for local university students.”

Former Aussie Rules player Jeff Chapman’s dream beach house, which has had its praises sung by The Independent in the UK, is back on the market with a revised – and more competitive – price guide.

The contemporary pavilion-style residence Alinghi, created by celebrated architect James Grose, was voted one of the top five beach houses in the world by the British newspaper and has been operating as a luxury holiday rental earning up to $7000 a week.

The one-time Melbourne forward and founder of Bennelong Funds Management, and his wife Carena Shankar, listed the five-bedroom getaway back in mid 2024 with hopes of about $8 million. The prestige property is now back with new agent Pauline Karatau of Ray White New Farm and the amended guide now sits at $6.5 million.

As part of the private 5ha Rocky Point estate, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef overlooking Honeymoon Bay, the glamorous holiday home shares not only a private beach with just four other neighbours, but also a 30m saltwater pool, a full-size tennis court, a beach cabana with barbecue facilities and a full-time live-in caretaker on site.

Alinghi seemingly floats against the cliffs of North Queensland’s Capricorn Coast consisting of two pavilions and shallow reflections pools for ultimate serenity. Residence number 5 is home to a two-storey main pavilion with large living spaces spilling onto semi-enclosed areas framing enviable ocean views. Upstairs there are four bedrooms, including two with ensuites. The second pavilion is a private retreat housing the main bedroom suite with an additional study or wellness space.

Crafted by Grose to leave minimal impact on its natural environment, the house features external materials sourced locally including rich cedar, plus glass and Travertine stone specifically chosen to blend and weather with the landscape over time.

The low maintenance property is also relatively self sufficient thanks to water tanks collecting the region’s abundant rainfall. Despite it’s northern Queensland address air-conditioning is an after-thought due to the clever cross-ventilation design principles and deliberate orientation capturing ocean breezes that flow through the large footprint.

Alinghi’s external lightning has also been carefully designed to be low voltage with minimum impact upon the local wildlife including wallabies, echidnas, goannas, turtles and even a diverse range of native birds. From the private terraces throughout winter, homeowners can also track the migratory whales.

Alinghi is a 90-minute drive away from Agnes Waters and its sister town of 1770 (also known as Seventeen Seventy). It is approximately 120kms from Bundaberg, which is home to a well-serviced domestic airport.

Alinghi is listed for sale with a price guide of $6.5 million via Ray White New Farm agent Pauline Karatau on 0418 733 773.

Will a cap on international students make housing more affordable?

The Federal Government is proposing a cap of 270,000 students in 2025