Condos cheaper than dorms for students in these cities

Condos cheaper than dorms for students in these cities

Rather than waiting until after their studies when student debt may be make homeownership challenging, students in 15 markets should buy while at college.

That’s the finding of an analysis by Redfin which found that buying a condo would be more cost effective for students in these markets than renting a dorm room on campus.

The study reveals student dorm room costs of between $232 and $1,817 per month with a median $705.
Looking at 195 US public colleges and comparing the cost of renting a dorm room with the median monthly mortgage cost, Redfin then ranked the 15 where condo ownership is more cost effective in order of the schools’ popularity.

Topping the list is The University of Arizona in Tucson where the median sale price in Tucson is $195,000 and the monthly mortgage cost is just $545. That easily beats the monthly dorm cost of $811.

Taking out the popularity factor, Miami University-Oxford has the largest difference between condo ownership (mortgage cost $489) and renting a dorm room ($831), a difference of $342 a month.

“Homeownership can be a great way to build wealth,” said real estate agent Misty Hurley. “Students will build equity that they can one day use as a downpayment on a move-up home or to pay off student loans. If they choose not to sell right away, they’ll have a piece of property that’s ripe for renting, as there are always new college students looking for rentals.”

The 15 markets are:

Rank				College				City				Monthly Mortgage Cost				Monthly Dorm Cost				Cost Difference
1				University of Arizona				Tucson, AZ				$545				$811				$266
2				Georgia State University				Atlanta, GA				$1,116				$1,139				$23
3				University of South Carolina-Columbia				Columbia, SC				$511				$671				$160
4				Kent State University at Kent				Kent, OH				$664				$751				$87
5				Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College				Baton Rouge, LA				$731				$837				$105
6				University at Buffalo				Buffalo, NY				$650				$866				$217
7				University of Kentucky				Lexington, KY				$730				$876				$146
8				University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus				Norman, OK				$470				$752				$282
9				The University of Texas at El Paso				El Paso, TX				$441				$546				$105
10				The University of Texas at Dallas				Richardson, TX				$693				$769				$76
11				University of Akron				Akron, OH				$733				$780				$47
12				University of Delaware				Newark, DE				$605				$813				$208
13				University of North Carolina at Greensboro				Greensboro, NC				$487				$715				$228
14				Sam Houston State University				Huntsville, TX				$427				$570				$143
15				Miami University-Oxford				Oxford, OH				$489				$831				$342