An Examination of the Physical Characteristics of Privately Developed Student Housing in Studentified Neighbourhood of Calabar, Nigeria

In recent years, off-campus student housing has gained significant attention in developing countries like Nigeria, driven by the surge in students’ enrolment into tertiary institutions. As investments in this sector grow rapidly, students are placing greater emphasis on specific characteristics of their accommodations, seeking satisfaction and value. Hence, this study investigates the physical characteristics of the off-campus, privately developed student housing with a view to providing information on the physical attributes of this asset class to aid investment decisions. This research employed a descriptive case study approach. The results and discussions were limited to quantitative evidence. A census sampling technique was adopted in gathering the study data from 73 individual student housing units out of the 92 units that were available in the studentified neighbourhood of Calabar. To ensure targeted data collection, the studentified neighbourhood was stratified into three distinct categories based on proximity to major tertiary institutions: the University of Calabar stratum, the University of Cross River stratum, and the College of Health Technology stratum. This stratification allowed for a comprehensive analysis of student housing physical characteristics within each institutional context. The findings reveal that student housing in the study area primarily features ensuite rooms (91.78%), with most measuring 9m2-11.99m2. Again, the results showed that student housing units typically have 21-40 rooms and are of flat-style designs (60.28%). Further analysis of student housing building contents, facilities and services led to the categorisation of the student housing into three groups. The groups are high-tech/premium, middle-end, and low-end student housing units. For strategic investment decisions, student housing investors should consider a holistic review of student housing building contents, facilities and services. This will enable the investors to align their investment motives to a particular student housing unit category.