It’s no secret that college is a major investment. In fact, experts report that U.S. college tuition has increased more than 60% over the last 10 years. Add living expenses to your tuition bill and it’s not unusual to make a shocking, six-figure payout over the course of four years.
While you can’t control tuition, you can often lower your child’s living expenses and come out better in the long-run by buying a home for your student to live in off campus.
“Assuming you can afford the down payment,” notes Javier Vivas, Realtor.com’s manager of economic research, “owning a home that your child can live in while at school can help cut the high costs of off-campus living.” In addition, it often makes a smart future investment, “as a steady flow of students into the town continues to drive demand.”
Realtor.com recently compared the monthly mortgage cost (based on a 20% down payment) and other home-owning expenses, such as insurance and property taxes, to the monthly cost of renting in various college towns. The website concluded that the following 10 areas offered the best opportunities in terms of buying homes as an investment:
John Hopkins University, Baltimore MD
Median price for a home: $131,400.
Median monthly buying cost: $775
Median monthly renting cost: $1,443
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana:
Median price for a home: $89,900
Median monthly buying cost: $470
Median monthly renting cost: $856
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Average price for a home: $131, 000
Median monthly buying cost: $666
Median monthly renting cost: $970
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
Median price for a home: $107,225
Median monthly buying cost: $628
Median monthly renting cost: $930
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Median price for a home: $167,950
Median monthly buying cost: $964
Median monthly renting cost: $1,252
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Median price for a home: $300,447
Median monthly buying cost: $1,699
Median monthly renting cost: $1,971
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Median price for a home: $120,574
Median monthly buying cost: $677
Median monthly renting cost: $866
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Median price for a home: $189,125
Median monthly buying cost: $1,128
Median monthly renting cost: $1,252
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Median price for a home: $135,450
Median monthly buying cost: $856
Median monthly renting cost: $954
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Median price for a home: $149,075
Median monthly buying cost: $875
Median monthly renting cost: $956