Alexandra Borges de Sousa, director at language school CIAL’s Portuguese Department in Lisbon says that she has noticed – as recently as the second half of 2013 – an increase in requests of information.

“Property developers would be better developing relationships directly with education agents”

She says that some of these bookings are directly connected to ‘Golden Visas’, a scheme which Portugal initiated in 2012, whereby citizens of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who purchase a property in Portugal worth at least €500,000 are entitled to apply for a Portuguese temporary residence permit known colloquially as a Golden Visa.

“What we noticed is an increase in bookings from students, namely Chinese, who are already here in one of those special visas and decide to learn the language,” she explains.

CIAL, she says, was approached by “a major national bank”; one which has an operation in France.

“This bank is launching a ‘package’ of advantages for French retired people who decide to buy property and come to live in Portugal. This is also in connection to a government program that will exempt these people from paying income tax in either country. The bank wants include learning Portuguese in this package, and CIAL will be their partner,” she says.

Yet, while she agrees that her suspicion is that the decision as to where to study can be impacted by the thought of potential returns from real estate, she believes that it is the “possibility of being granted a residency visa (simply) because one buys up-market real estate” which is the root cause of increased bookings in the country at present.

“But, to be totally candid, and talking only about Portugal and the Portuguese, most of us feel that the ‘Golden Visa’ business is an easy way for the government to attract foreign investment in real estate, that doesn’t really do much for the image of the country or of its educational institutions,” she adds.

International Property consultants’ views on the real estate market for the study abroad sector:

Thomas Lam, director and head of research and consultancy, Greater China at Knight Frank in Hong Kong pinpoints London, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago (“places where well-established high schools and universities are”) as locations where Chinese families in particular have an interest in buying property.

He notes that the purchase of real estate is generally viewed as a long-term investment, with the possibility of obtaining foreign citizenship an important factor too.

However, he points out, also, that the potential for real estate returns is unlikely to be the deciding factor when it comes to where to study. “The reputation of a city’s education system would be a more important factor,” he says.

“We often see parents buying property either for their children to live in while at university or for them to use when they visit”

David Green-Morgan, global capital markets research director at Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore agrees, saying: “I’m not sure that we see people making decisions on universities based on where they can get the best property returns but we often see parents buying property either for their children to live in while at university or for them to use when they visit.”

That said, supply and demand and strong yields are making student accommodation an attractive real estate investment option in many parts of the world, with research from Jones Lang LaSalle noting that the market is unlikely to slow any time soon, with a continuing rise in student numbers worldwide – which is expected to reach over 263 million by 2025. Over half these students have come from Asia, it says.

As such, Yolande Barnes, director of world research at global estate agents Savills, warns that leading universities need to ensure they offer high quality accommodation “in order to continue as destinations of choice for the rapidly growing pool of academically ambitious, global students.”

• This article was originally published in The PIE Review.