Developers have completed around 7,000 student rooms in Belfast over the past decade. A property consultancy assessed the sector as fully supplied, rendering new builds unfeasible. The firm submitted these findings last week in a planning application to replace an office block with tourist lodgings.

Construction costs reach about £100,000 per room. A 393-room development at Alma Place sold from insolvency this year for roughly £66,000 per room. Current occupancy in recent schemes falls below expectations, with 65% to 70% full occupancy and at least one shifting to short-term rentals.

No new student housing projects began in 2025, according to a city construction survey published this year. Around 1,200 bed spaces remain under construction for delivery this year. The expansion of Ulster University's campus on Belfast's northern city centre edge sparked the decade's activity, alongside growth in overseas student numbers.

Schemes include Queen's University's Weavers Hall on the Dublin Road Movie House site. Another 4,000 rooms sit in planning or pre-planning, though few may advance now.