Data from StuRents suggests occupancy rates have fallen in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
According to figures from June 2026, about 49.7% of rooms in Glasgow had been booked for the upcoming academic year, in comparison to 81.8% of rooms at the same point in 2024.
Similarly, Edinburgh figures suggest that 63.2% of rooms have been booked in the same period, down from 80.6% in 2024.
Nationally, 59.1% of rooms had been booked for the upcoming year in June 2026, compared with 70.4% in 2024.
StuRents’ Richard Ward added that the sector had experienced a surge in demand from international and postgraduate students following the Covid pandemic.
However, he said growth in international student numbers had slowed, while new accommodation continued to come onto the market, leading to lower occupancy rates.
International student figures in Scotland have fallen for two years in a row, with a 5% drop most recently.
The largest cohort of international students in Scotland come from China.
Ward said: “The challenge for developers and investors entering into the student market is that from the point of an application being approved to the building actually being complete could be three years, for example.
“During that time the local market could have radically shifted.”
Because of this, Ward says that pipeline figures do not necessarily translate into completed developments.
“I’m not expecting, by all means, anywhere near the full pipeline to be delivered in any market, but equally in Glasgow and Edinburgh,” he said.
