MARKETS & TRENDS
Athens, GA
LOCAL MARKET MONITOR
HOME PRICE TO RENT (RATIO)
JOB GROWTH (2018)
HOME PRICES (2018)
HOME PRICE (000)
MONTHLY RENT
LOCAL MARKET MONITOR
Betting on College Town Investments OPPORTUNITIES FROM COLLEGE TOWN TURNOVER.
22
4.2%
6%
$216
$837
Athens, GA
19
3.9%
5%
$181
$776
Lafayette, IN
23
3.7%
8%
$378
$1,359
Fort Collins, CO
28
3.3%
7%
$530
$1,579
Boulder, CO
15
3.3%
2%
$201
$1,147
Ithaca, NY
22
2.9%
5%
$317
$1,195
Charlottesville, VA
by Ingo Winzer
16
2.6%
4%
$173
$914
Lubbock, TX
F
or years, one of the safest bets for investors has been college
and new institutes – either public or private – that need their own staff, separate from the college. With a few exceptions, note that home prices (and demand for all housing) increased last year at a good clip. In those towns where the Home Price/Rent Ratio is more than 20, it makes sense to split a single-fam- ily home into several units, which takes time and extra money but will increase your return. In the other markets you can do straight rentals and that means less risk. Your college days may be starting
all over again! Our Investors Metro Monitor shows you the risks and opportunities in 200 markets across the country at www.LocalMarketMonitor.com. •
16
2.4%
2%
$168
$885
Blacksburg, VA
towns. Not because these are high- growth markets (usually they grow no faster than the college itself) but because of the steady demand for rent- als from a population that is constantly turning over. This doesn’t mean the undergraduates, but rather the faculty, staff and graduate students. The days of rapidly growing college staff may be over, but the economies of the 15 towns listed seem to be doing just fine. That’s partly because research in new fields keeps spawn- ing start-ups, business expansions
18
2.1%
4%
$213
$970
Gainesville, FL
29
2.1%
6%
$287
$819
Missoula, MT
17
2.0%
10%
$178
$853
Auburn, AL
17
1.8%
7%
$189
$924
IngoWinzer is president of Local Market Monitor, which analyzes conditions in 300 U.S. markets, using such economic data as home values and growth in employment and population. Winzer, who has analyzed
College Station, TX
21
1.7%
9%
$280
$1,090
Ann Arbor, MI
real estate markets for more than 20 years, was a founder and executive vice president of First Research, an industry research company that was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in March 2007. He is a graduate of MIT and holds an MBA in finance from Boston Univer- sity. Winzer resides in Cambridge, Mass.
17
1.6%
-1%
$160
$802
Morgantown, WV
19
1.5%
8%
$195
$848
Waco, TX
Source :: Local Market Monitor, 2019
62 | think realty housing news report :: april / may 2019
thinkrealty . com / hnr | 63
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