# Foreign, mainland students flock to Hong Kong, sparking property demand in education sector

- **Source:** EdgeProp Singapore
- **Published:** 2026-09-10T03:00:00.000Z
- **Author:** Cheryl Arcibal
- **Original:** https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/foreign-mainland-students-flock-hong-kong-sparking-property-demand-education-sector
- **Topics:** Government & Policy, Sustainability & PropTech, Regional Markets

## Featured rationale

The projected enrolment growth signals sustained education-property demand that could support campus conversions, student accommodation investment and transactions involving suitable retail podiums.

## AI summary

Hong Kong could have around 200,000 non-local students by 2035, requiring 40 to 50 new campuses and more than 70,000 additional student beds.

## Original article

Hong Kong’s bid to become a global education hub is likely to transform the sector as a sustainable source of property demand, with the city tipped to see around 200,000 non-local students by 2035, according to CBRE.

The city’s international schools are estimated to require enormous additional real estate to accommodate around 30,000 to 40,000 non-local students, as the institutions would need to set up 40 to 50 new school campuses.

This could mean up to an extra 1.11 million sq m (12 million sq ft) of gross floor area, a study released by the consultancy on Monday showed.

Read also: China’s first-tier new home prices flat in July, ending four-month rebound

At the tertiary level, with a projected inflow of 150,000 students, universities were likely to expand their academic space by 1.39 million to 2.14 million sq m.

Currently, Hong Kong’s 12 institutions that award degrees occupy around 4 million sq m of gross floor area.

Moreover, the student accommodation segment would need more than 70,000 additional beds to provide living space for these students in about a decade.

“Hong Kong’s education sector is undergoing a structural transformation,” said Marcos Chan, executive director and head of research at CBRE Hong Kong.

“Historically, education demand was closely linked to local demographics, but future growth will increasingly be driven by non-local students, talent migration and the city’s position as an international education hub.”

The trend “will establish education as one of the most important long-term demand drivers for Hong Kong real estate, creating sustained requirements for campuses, academic facilities and student accommodation”.

Read also: Centurion first-half revenue rises, expects portfolio to exceed 87,200 beds by 2027

The sector’s expansion is underpinned by support from the government, which launched the initiative to attract more international students in 2024, as well as programmes to lure wealthy immigrants and professional talent to Hong Kong, with many bringing dependents including school-aged children.

Mainland Chinese students were expected to be the main source of inflow of new students into Hong Kong, given the current geopolitical concerns over studying in the West, while the city’s universities have also placed prominently in various rankings.

CBRE noted that Hong Kong was home to five universities featured in the QS World University Rankings for 2027, with the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong both ranked among the Global Top 20.

In Asia, Hong Kong boasts five universities within the Top 10 of the same rankings.

Additionally, eight universities from Hong Kong were included in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings for 2026, with five making it into the Top 20 list.

Between January 2025 and August this year, CBRE tracked about 49,000 sq m of new spaces leased by education groups and property acquisitions worth HK$845 million ($136.3 million).

Meanwhile, during the same period, the agency said there were 4,500 student bedrooms expected to become available, in addition to the 9,500 already in place.

Read also: What makes McDonald’s assets stand out amid a weak Hong Kong retail property market?

For investors, the future requirements of the education sector could be a huge opportunity given that many of the city’s neighbourhood malls struggle amid a narrow-based recovery of the retail sector.

Retail podiums, typically the lower floors of a residential estate, were particularly favoured as current regulations bar high-rise buildings as venues for academic facilities for schoolchildren.

“We are seeing a lot of transactions where international schools are buying or leasing retail podiums and we believe this trend will continue because of the rising demand,” Chan said.

The record real estate demand of the education segment has been driving investor appetite for Hong Kong’s property assets, including those coming from overseas, said Frederick Lai, senior director for capital markets at CBRE.

“We know of at least 500,000 sq ft of demand for space, whether it’s from existing schools in Hong Kong or new groups trying to set up a campus here,” he said.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 外国及内地学生涌入香港，带动教育板块物业需求

随着非本地入学人数扩大，香港或需新增40至50个学校校园，以及逾7万个学生床位。

香港正力争成为全球教育枢纽，这很可能使该板块转型为可持续的物业需求来源。据世邦魏理仕（CBRE）称，该市到2035年预计将迎来约20万名非本地学生。

该市的国际学校据估计需要大量额外房地产，以容纳约3万至4万名非本地学生，因为这些机构需设立40至50个新校园。

该顾问公司周一发布的研究报告显示，这可能意味着额外增加多达111万平方米（1200万平方英尺）的总楼面面积。

另读：中国一线城市新建住宅价格7月持平，连续四个月反弹告终

在高等教育层面，预计将有15万名学生流入，大学的教学空间料将扩大139万至214万平方米。

目前，香港12所可授予学位的院校占用约400万平方米总楼面面积。

此外，学生住宿板块还需新增逾7万个床位，以便在约十年内为这些学生提供居住空间。

世邦魏理仕香港执行董事兼研究主管Marcos Chan表示：“香港教育板块正经历结构性转型。”

“从历史上看，教育需求与本地人口结构密切相关，但未来增长将越来越多地由非本地学生、人才迁移以及该市作为国际教育枢纽的地位所驱动。”

这一趋势“将使教育成为香港房地产最重要的长期需求驱动力之一，持续催生对校园、教学设施和学生住宿的需求”。

另读：Centurion上半年营收上升，预计到2027年投资组合床位数将超过87,200个

该板块扩张得到政府支持：港府于2024年推出吸引更多国际学生的举措，以及吸引富裕移民和专业人才赴港的计划，其中许多人会携带包括学龄子女在内的家属。

鉴于当前赴西方国家留学的地缘政治顾虑，加上该市大学在各类排名中表现突出，内地学生预计将成为香港新增学生流入的主要来源。

世邦魏理仕指出，香港有五所大学入选2027年QS世界大学排名，其中香港大学和香港中文大学均跻身全球前20。

在亚洲，香港有五所大学进入同一排名的前10。

此外，香港有八所大学入选2026年泰晤士高等教育亚洲大学排名，其中五所进入前20名单。

2025年1月至今年8月期间，世邦魏理仕追踪到教育机构新租约约49,000平方米，以及价值8.45亿港元（1.363亿新币）的物业收购。

与此同时，该机构表示，同期预计将有4,500间学生寝室陆续供应，另有已落成的9,500间。

另读：在香港零售物业市场疲弱之际，麦当劳资产为何脱颖而出？

对投资者而言，教育板块的未来需求可能是巨大机遇，因为该市许多邻里商场在零售业窄基复苏中仍举步维艰。

零售裙楼（通常是住宅项目的较低楼层）尤其受青睐，因为现行规定禁止将高层建筑用作学童教学设施场地。

Chan表示：“我们看到大量国际学校购买或租赁零售裙楼的交易，我们认为这一趋势将因需求上升而持续。”

世邦魏理仕资本市场高级董事Frederick Lai表示，教育板块创纪录的房地产需求正在推动投资者对香港物业资产的兴趣，包括来自海外的投资者。

他表示：“据我们所知，至少有500,000平方英尺的空间需求，无论是来自香港现有学校，还是试图在此设立校园的新机构。”