Global & Local Experts Signal Confidence in Student Housing at Toronto Summit

Toronto, June 4, 2025 — Over 200 senior participants from the real estate and education sectors came together at T3 Bayside in Toronto for the second edition of the Student Housing Summit Canada, hosted by global student housing data and advisory specialist BONARD. The event featured four panels, 20+ speakers, and attendees from Canada, the US, the UK, and Europe.

With a packed room of investors, developers, operators, and university leaders, the summit addressed the country’s evolving student housing landscape — a sector marked by significant supply-demand imbalance and slow-moving policy but strong long-term opportunity.

Opening remarks were delivered by Jonathan Turnbull, Managing Director and Head of Canada at Harrison Street, also the Summit’s main Platinum Partner, and Martin Varga, BONARD’s Business Development Director. Their perspectives set the strategic tone for the day, touching on global capital movement, Canada’s underdeveloped student housing sector, and the need for data-led decision-making.

“The event was a great success. The doubling of attendance is a great reflection of the continued growth of global interest in Canadian student housing and the advancement of the sector locally. As global investors have broadened their search for attractive risk adjusted returns in the living space, unique opportunities like Canadian student housing are gaining well deserved interest,” said Turnbull.

In the morning intelligence session, BONARD’s Chief Intelligence Officer Patrik Pavlacic and Director of Rented Residential Julia Oravec presented the latest Canada data release. Topics included current supply, pipeline, demand projections, rents, and provision rate. “Despite a slowdown in international enrolment growth, the Canadian market remains resilient, with the current pipeline covering just 3.5% of unmet demand,” said Oravec.

The first panel, “Global Signals: What Mature Student Housing Markets Can Teach Us,” brought in international operators and capital partners to share insights from more established regions. Speakers from Berlin Hyp, Yugo, Student Experience, and Harrison Street discussed lessons from Europe, UK, US and Australia evolution, pricing strategies, the importance of branding, and rising university-private partnerships.

“I think the biggest thing is collaboration. You can't proceed in this sector or continue in this sector without collaborating with various stakeholder groups – universities, the students themselves, the

parents, but also with the institutional capital and capital that comes into the sector as well as lenders,” said Joe Persechino, Chief Operating Officer at Yugo.

Throughout the day, the summit tackled the challenges of aligning public and private stakeholders, unlocking financing, adapting to shifting student demographics, and improving operational models. The shared message: Canada holds enormous potential, but scaling its student housing sector requires smarter coordination, policy momentum, and access to independent, asset-level data.

“it’s about growing our student housing stock in a way that we haven't been able to until now. We've been self-investing, but now we need broader market participation – we need partners to engage and help bring more student housing into inventory through collaboration,” said Andrew Parr, Associate Vice President, Student Housing & Community Services at University of British Columbia.

The closing session focused on collaboration across the value chain. As the final speaker put it:

“RFPs traditionally do not close in Canada. The ones that tend to close are ones where they have come up with a collaborative, meaningful relationship with universities where everyone wins along the way,” said Henry Morton, President at Campus Suites.

Martin Varga delivered the closing remarks, highlighting the firm’s role in enabling evidence-based decisions and reinforcing the importance of data-driven collaboration to advance Canada’s student housing sector.

“At BONARD, we see ourselves not just as a provider of market intelligence, but as a strategic partner helping shape the future of student housing — in Canada and globally. By benchmarking this market against more mature regions, we bring valuable context, highlight best practices, and uncover opportunities that might otherwise be missed. Our goal is to equip all stakeholders with the data and insights they need to make confident, forward-looking decisions in one of the most under-supplied sectors in the living space,” said Varga.

About the Student Housing Summit

Organized by BONARD, the Student Housing Summit is a platform for real estate and education leaders to meet, share knowledge, and drive the development of high-quality student accommodation. The event series features curated panels, international speakers, and in-field data presentations that support strategic decision-making across the living sector.

About BONARD

BONARD is a global market data, intelligence and advisory firm specializing in rented residential asset classes, incl. student housing, co-living, BTR/PRS and senior living. With offices andrepresentatives across the globe, BONARD provides independent, time-series, asset-level data and strategic support for investors, developers, operators, and public institutions.

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