I just returned from a weekend in Champaign, Ill. to watch the Fighting Illini – and what a great time! Can’t say the game was a thrill with Michigan pounding us, but we still had a blast with our friends cheering on our alma mater.
I’m clearly not the only one with a passion for college sports and college towns. Champaign, like so many of the other quintessential college towns, has so much to offer – sports, culture, events, and vibrancy. Many of their economies are stable, led by medical and research industries, and home to state capitols.
Today we released the 2011 College Home Listing Report, which ranks the average listing price of three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in college towns across the country. I love this report because it highlights just how affordable so many of these iconic towns are.
For example a three-bedroom/two-bath home in Champaign averages $178,310 in this year’s College Home Listing Report, which is incredibly affordable if you take into account all that it has to offer as a community. I can speak to this first-hand, as I purchased a vacation home there a few years ago because we go back so frequently. The amazing thing is that even with this reasonable average home price, it is only #55 on the ranking overall.
And even though my Illini are not in the BCS Top 10, I took a look at how these towns fared in the report. Noting that we did not include Alabama due to the horrific destruction the April tornadoes caused in Tuscaloosa, the average listing price of the top 10 BCS towns is $302,052. And that includes Stanford’s Palo Alto at $1.23 million! Take out the Cardinal and the average is an astounding $185,799!
BCS Rankings (as of 11/13):
1. LSU/Baton Rouge, LA ($194,518)
2. Oklahoma State/Stillwater, OK ($141,728)
3. Alabama/Tuscaloosa, AL (not included)
4. Oregon/Eugene, OR ($244,964)
5. Oklahoma/Norman, OK ($150,313)
6. Arkansas/Fayetteville, AR ($165,643)
7. Clemson/Clemson, SC ($164,836)
8. Virginia Tech/Blacksburg, VA ($258,332)
9. Stanford/Palo Alto, CA ($1,232,070)
10. Boise State, Boise, ID ($166,064)
In fact, this year’s study found that a three-bedroom/two-bath home costs less than $200,000 on average in nearly two-thirds of the markets (76 markets), and less than $150,000 in nearly a quarter of the college towns (26 markets).
I know I’m partial to Champaign. What’s your favorite college town? See how it stacks up here: hlr.coldwellbanker.com.
Very good page
And any California agents who are wondering where to get investors to affordable college towns in this state?
I hope they talk to me at Chico Ca at our Coldwell Banker Dufour Realty office. CSUC have one of the highest graduation rates in the state university system and the beautiful outdoor recreation is a side perk!
We’re based in Kansas so we’d have to say that we are pretty partial to our home-state college towns of Manhattan, KS and Lawrence, KS. However, you can even find some great living areas around the schools in Wichita, Hutchinson and Sterling. All-in-all, it’s great to have a community nearby where you can share the same team spirit and have a home you can grow in to. Thanks Coldwell Banker for sharing this article!
Great post. Where Realtors can really get ahead in the blog world is by writing posts about their own communities: what makes it livable, affordable and home. Agents who live in college towns have a great advantage of an educated community, affordable homes and a real sense of community (concerts, lectures, etc.), and they have no excuse not to promote these benefits on a blog!