Baltimore, home to Johns Hopkins University, ranks as the top college town housing market where buying makes more financial sense than renting, according to a new analysis by realtor.com®. In Baltimore, the average monthly homeownership cost of $775 is more affordable than the average $1,443 monthly cost of renting.
For its rankings, realtor.com® compared the average monthly rental costs to the average monthly home payment (including mortgage, property taxes, and insurance) in markets near notable colleges and university.
"College tuition in the U.S. has increased more than 60 percent over the last 10 years," says Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor.com®. "Assuming you can afford the down payment, owning a home that your child can live in while at school can help cut the high costs of off campus living. It also makes a great future investment as a steady flow of students into the town continues to drive demand."
In realtor.com®’s 10 top college town investment findings, researchers found it takes an average of 21 percent of the local median household income to buy a home in those counties, compared to 28 percent for the U.S. overall. Renting, however, in these markets is pricier, which requires an average 27 percent of income compared to 25 percent for the U.S.
The following are the top 10 college towns that topped realtor.com®’s list
- Baltimore (Johns Hopkins University): $775 (homeownership cost); $1,443 (rent payments)
- South Bend, Ind. (University of Notre Dame): $470 (buying); $856 (renting)
- West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue University): $666 (buying); $970 (renting)
- East Lansing, Mich. (Michigan State University): $628 (buying); $930 (renting)
- Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania): $964 (buying); $1,252 (renting)
- College Park, Md. (University of Maryland): $1,699 (buying); $1,971 (renting)
- Cleveland (Case Western Reserve University): $677 (buying); $866 (renting)
- Swarthmore, Pa. (Swarthmore College): $1,128 (buying); $1,252 (renting)
- Milwaukee (Marquette University): $856 (buying); $954 (renting)
- Champaign, Ill. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): $875 (buying); $956 (renting)
Source: realtor.com®
