Pearl Hostel at Pan-Atlantic University records highest rental yield

Pearl Hostel, which provides accommodation for undergraduate students of Pan-Atlantic University, has recorded a current yield of 28.36 percent. This is the highest yield among the five properties held by UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust.

According to UPDC REIT’s property portfolio disclosure for the period ended September 30, 2026, the hostel is located in Sangotedo, Lekki. It has 125 accommodation units and recorded an occupancy rate of 98 percent during the reporting period. The figures show a significant difference in the rental yields generated by UPDC REIT properties, with Pearl Hostel recording a yield more than twice that of Victoria Mall Plaza 2, which ranked second at 11.54 percent. The REIT’s total net asset value stood at N36.20 billion as at September 30, 2026, with the five properties forming its disclosed real estate portfolio.

Student Housing Deficit

Pearl Hostel’s performance comes against the backdrop of a significant shortage of formal student accommodation in Nigeria. The deficit is estimated at more than 1 million beds, according to Fortren and Company’s Africa Student Housing Report. The report examined the purpose-built student accommodation market in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, finding that Africa has about 250,000 formal student beds for a student population of approximately 25 million. The report identified limited access to long term institutional capital, weak public private partnership frameworks and development risks as constraints on the sector’s expansion.

UPDC REIT operates in a Nigerian real estate investment trust market that remains relatively small compared with other African markets, despite the growing number of listed and unlisted property investment vehicles. Pension fund holdings in Nigerian REITs increased by 168 percent to $50.9 million as of March 2025, indicating growing institutional exposure to the asset class. The report identifies stronger institutional participation, including increased pension fund investment, as an important factor that could support the expansion of Nigeria’s REIT market. Across Africa, Fortren and Company identifies 49 operational REITs with an estimated market value of $30 billion and a combined listed market capitalisation of approximately $21 billion. Fortren and Company attributes South Africa’s dominance to its deeper capital markets, stronger institutional participation, better liquidity and more developed regulatory and corporate governance frameworks.