Most Affordable Places to Invest in College Rentals

Coldwell Banker, the nationwide real estate firm, released a report on the most reasonably priced college towns for investors. From Syracuse, NY, home of the University of Syracuse, to Athens, GA, where the UGA Bulldogs play, to the University of Notre Dame’s South Bend, IN, the comparison was limited to huge football schools and homes of 2,200 square feet, four bedrooms, and two and a half baths. 120 markets were surveyed.

The results show that in 62% of the markets surveyed, real estate investors can pay less than $250,000 for homes of this size. Clearly, college towns offer fantastic affordability for rental homes. Plus, the culture and ambiance of a college town makes these markets even extra appealing to renters.

Some fascinating proof that the study highlighted:
• The PAC-10 is the most expensive real estate conference, with an average of $747,180 for 4BR/2.5B/2200 SQ FT homes.

• Most reasonably priced is the Mid America conference, where the average comparable home expenditure just $182,222.

• The ten most expensive college markets have average home prices ranging from $568,317 in Seattle, WA (University of Washington) to $1,489,726 in Palo Alto, CA (Stanford University).

• If those prices are too rich for your investing pocketbook, look to the middle part of the US, where the ten least expensive college towns in this survey lie: Akron OH, Muncie, IN, Ann Arbor, MI, Ypsilanti, MI, Fastness Worth, TX, Tulsa OK, Denton, TX, Houston, TX, Bloomington, IN, and Kent OH. Average prices for the four-bedroom comparison home in these markets are in the $122,000 — $166,000 range.

The president of Coldwell Banker called college markets a “best-kept secret” of the real estate industry. And, real estate pros have been investing in them for years. If you’re looking for your next investment opportunity, a rental home in a football-friendly college town just might be it!