Demand for student property soared in November 2013, according to TheMoveChannel.com´s latest Investment Watch. As universities prepared to break up for Christmas, investors flocked to the sector, with one student property in Sheffield ranking as both the second and third most popular listing on the site, the first time this has ever happened.

London Court in Sheffield is a new build student development with 90 units ready for the 2014/2015 academic year. Investors, though, were ready to move in their cash immediately, attracted by the 10 per cent yields assured for the first three years.

The project is situated between two universities, a location with potential to take advantage of high demand for accommodation. The property was seen as so profitable that London Court received the second highest number of enquiries in November – and the third highest too. The property was advertised in two listings by separate agents, but buyers responded to them in almost equal number, with ROC Invest receiving 154 enquiries and Aspen Woolf receiving 134.

Combined, London Court´s two listings accounted for a total of 288 enquiries, the highest on TheMoveChannel.com in November and almost double that of the number one listing: La Foret d´Armotte, a resort in France.  The new build property in Saint Augustin offered 95 per cent finance and an optional fixed NET rental of 6 per cent, coupled with four weeks´ personal use – a diverse enough package to win over both lifestyle and investment buyers.

Income remains a significant factor in buyer activity. Investors looked at a wide range of investment types and locations, from farmland in Senegal to a hotel in Panama, but high yields were the priority. Only one of the top 10 most popular listings on TheMoveChannel.com in November 2013 offered returns of less than 10 per cent: the Saint Augustin resort.

Buyers did not care about the price tag either: fractional shares in a gold mine in Ecuador cost only £3,000, but were the fifth most popular listing, while the French property´s price tag of £182,868 did nothing to dampen demand. A 95 per cent finance option, though, made the apartments more affordable, while France´s historic low mortgage rates have significantly stimulated demand from overseas buyers keen to return to an established market.

Even with its financial appeal, though, France´s popularity was dwarfed by student property. The sector has now appeared in seven out of 11 Investment Watch reports this year.

TheMoveChannel.com Director Dan Johnson comments:

“Demand for student property has always been strong on TheMoveChannel.com. The sector´s counter-cyclical nature has made it popular among investors since the financial downturn. In August 2013, a student housing development in Bradford received the most enquiries on the site, while in October, student property accounted for two of the top 10 listings. In November, that share doubled to four of the Investment Watch top 10. Sheffield stole the show, though, making up two of the top 10 listings in its own right. This is an unprecedented situation, and the first time a property advertised by multiple agents has performed so well. Regardless of who is marketing, student housing´s investment potential appears to speak for itself.”

Click here to view the 10 most popular listings on TheMoveChannel.com for November 2013.