How Russian, Chinese and Malaysian students support the British economy
Yes, problems with finding housing in London do exist. However, if you (or your parents) are a little less than fabulously rich, you will not have any difficulties with real estate even in the British capital.
At a time when all eyes are on the sheikhs and oligarchs who are buying up expensive apartments, the English real estate agency EJ Harris helpfully shows statistics according to which foreign students spend about 600 million pounds per year on rent in England. According to the agency, wealthy students from Russia, China and Malaysia give up to 1,500 pounds a week to be able to live comfortably while studying. Further, simple arithmetic: multiply by the number of weeks in a year (52, if anything) and get an incredible 78 thousand pounds sterling. Translated into Russian rubles, the amount is 8.2 million.
It is worth noting that 1500 pounds is the average cost of housing that wealthy foreign students are interested in. Some parents are not ready to pay more than £500 a week for rent, and someone can afford apartments for their children costing up to £5,000.
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Wealthy Russian, Chinese and Malaysian students typically spend up to £1,500 a week on housing, renting apartments in the most affluent areas of Mayfair, Knightsbridge and South Kensington.
The apartments are chosen to be impeccable: bright, spacious, with large rooms and wide windows. Like this one in Cadogan Gardens, for example.
Bathrooms in these apartments rival those you will find only in five-star hotels.
Bedrooms, of course, are also distinguished by luxury. Wealthy parents of overseas students are happy to pay the average Englishman's monthly salary to ensure that their children sleep soundly and in royal comfort during their studies.
According to EJ Harris, 20% of their annual income comes from students renting housing. Half of these 20% are foreigners.
The wealthiest students spend £5,000 a week on luxury housing (about half a million rubles at the current exchange rate). As a rule, bedrooms in such apartments are slightly larger than a standard apartment in London. For example, such as this - in an apartment near Regent's Park.
According to the agency, the reason why students want to live in such conditions is the opportunity to accommodate friends and family who often visit them during their studies.
Despite the danger of grandiose parties and huge scope for revelry, landlords are madly in love with foreign students (of course!). It turns out that there is no price for such tenants - they take their studies very seriously and, as a rule, behave quietly, and treat property carefully.
Real estate agents say that the only vice of wealthy students from Russia is smoking.
Sometimes "overseas" students prefer more "modest" apartment options: with only two bedrooms in Notting Hill, Bayswater or Shepherd's Bush. Such housing costs them 500-600 pounds per week (or 53 thousand rubles).
Do you think requests for royal apartments are rare? Not at all: as soon as housing becomes available, the agency receives up to 500 rental applications from international students.
Keywords: Rent | Money | House | Housing | Apartment | London | Real estate | Students