Thousands of A-level students have received their examination results and will now be preparing for the move to university.
Accommodation will be top of a long list of priorities for parents and students alike.
Whilst most first time students will usually spend their first year living in halls of residence, others will be moving into rented accommodation with friends.
Halifax Estate Agents has examined house prices over the last five years in university towns and cities in three different categories: the country's top 20 performing university towns; the largest university student population, as well as the universities offering the most popular courses.
Key findings:
- Of the top performing universities, Manchester recorded the highest property price growth since 1999 (114%), followed closely by Bath where house prices rose by 113%. The third best performing location was York which saw a 109% rise in property prices over the last five years.
- The average rise in property prices across the cities and towns of the top 20 performing universities over the past five years was 88% - slightly above the UK average of 83%.
- Prices in 14 of the university cities and towns surveyed, equalled or out-performed the UK average house price rise.
- Looking at the largest universities outside the top 20 performing universities, by size of student population, the average house price rise in these areas over the period 2000-2005 was 100%.
- Buyers in Plymouth will have seen their property rise by the most, 131% on average, whilst buying property near institutions in central London will have delivered the lowest return at 55%.
- In general the northern cities and towns outperformed those in the South with locations such as Newcastle (125%), Birmingham (108%) and Sheffield (107%), delivering house price growth well above the national average.
Colin Kemp, Managing director of Halifax Estate Agents, said:
"Rising house prices across the UK as a whole have helped parents buying property for their children in university towns and cities to enjoy excellent returns.
"However, the decision to buy a property for a son or daughter at university should ultimately depend upon the parents' personal circumstances and property prices around the university in question."
