A college education and the purchase of a home are widely considered to be the pinnacle of investment activity. Therefore, as students prepare for their next semester, consider buying property in a college town that has the potential to provide a great return on your investment. However, how do you find the best college destinations for real estate investing in 2013?
College towns have long been a popular choice for real estate investing. Student housing has therefore grown as a hot real estate investment trend over the last couple of years. Investors have spent countless hours trying to determine which college towns will provide the best real estate investing opportunities.
HomeFinder.com data shows buying a home in a college town can offer a great return on real estate investment. As a result, the real estate website has compiled a list of the 10 best college towns to invest in. Based on the cities with the lowest price per square foot, the ten best college towns to invest in are as follows:
- Baltimore, MD
- Grand Forks, ND
- Cleveland, OH
- Rochester, NY
- Buffalo, NY
- Lansing, MI
- Trenton, NJ
- Columbus, OH
- Saint Louis, MO
- Lafayette, IN
Baltimore sits atop the list with a median price of $11.46 per square foot. In addition to the relatively cheap price, however, is its proximity four prestigious universities. Johns Hopkins, Loyola University Maryland, University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland – Baltimore are all close by.
Conversely, Lafayette rounds out the top ten college towns with an average price of $77.28 per square foot. The city’s proximity to Purdue University, however, makes it a wise choice for investors.
According to AIER (American Institute for Economic Research) and the College Destinations Index (CDI); San Diego, CA, Hartford, CT and Bridgeport, CT are becoming relevant in their own right. It might not be long until these cities breach the top ten.
Providing college housing means easy branding and high ROI marketing. Once students graduate and look for places to rent; the same real estate brand is right there to help them again. They will come to recognize the brand they already trust.
As these individuals entertain real jobs and continue to grow, they can start looking at single family startup homes. They will soon progress to larger floor plans, and probably eventually to condos for retiring.
