College Town Real Estate Montrose CO

It is easy for many people to idealize their college years. Yet college towns are not only ideal for 18-year-olds, they are ideal for real estate investors.

College towns are attractive to a wide swath of the population for a variety of reasons. Residents, including retirees, often choose college towns because of the job and cultural offerings and other events; business owners favor the well educated population; and real estate investors tend to be drawn to them because of the steady stream of renters and reliable price appreciation.  

Research universities in particular can benefit the towns in which they are set because their large, diverse and often well paid staffs can boost local economies. Further boosting local economies are the many new companies, particularly in the medical and technology fields, that choose to set up shop in towns with research universities because of the well educated work force available.

Employment and culture

"College towns are the best bargain in U.S. real estate—the ideal mix of low prices, culture, fun and high-tech growth," Rich Karlgaard wrote in Digital Rules, his Forbes.com blog.

College towns are good picks for real estate investments because they present "a steady stream of revenue…and growth potential for years to come," according to The New York Times. Growth potential comes from the growing number of students attending college, which will require larger staffs to teach and support them, and from the burgeoning employment markets present in college towns.

"Many college towns...have significant private research and technology industries nearby to take advantage of university facilities and to attract well-educated employees," according to the RealEstate Journal. "Such industry further strengthens housing demand."

College towns offer potential for more than just technology and startup companies; "older companies will find college towns great places to expand and reinvigorate," Karlgaard wrote.

But college towns are attractive even for those unconcerned about a location's job market. Many retirees are choosing to move to college towns because of the variety of cultural and lifestyle benefits college towns offer their residents.

"These days, college towns are getting a lot of play as retirement places," according to the RealEstate Journal. "Many are younger and wealthier retirees seeking the intellectual stimulation, the 'buzz' and clean small-town lifestyle of such communities."

"A campus means more cultural activities, a decent selection of restaurants and often less crime—all attractive in a neighborhood," according to Forbes.com

UCLA Campus in Westwood, California As a result, "the U.S. population is expected to grow about 1 percent a year between now and 2050, but towns and cities with large universities will grow at three times that rate," Karlgaard wrote.

Reliability

In part because of the positive growth outlooks of college towns, it seems that h...

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