College is getting more popular for students in the United States and around the world. In the past, pretty much all students lived on campus in dorms. In fact, it was actually required at certain places. Now, as enrollments start to change, it is becoming more and more common for students to live in apartments either on or off campus. At some universities, only freshmen are required to stay on campus. At other universities, nobody is required to stay on campus. As the populations at colleges grow, the requirements for housing grow as well. That means that anyone who invests in student housing stands to gain a large amount of money.
Investing in Property
Buying investment property in areas around colleges is a pretty safe guarantee that you will be able to get a solid return on your investment. Students tend to be in college for four years or more. They also tend to not change their apartments very often. Once they find a good place to stay, they tend to stay there. That means you’ll have reliable tenants for four-year periods. Student housing is also a great investment because of the kind of demand that surrounds housing. The demand is high, and the tenants tend to be very simple to please. College students aren’t really known for being very discerning or demanding in housing. They have very simple needs, which means that you can invest in some very simple properties that will stay fully occupied without much effort on your part. Also, the demand in college towns is so high that you don’t have to worry too much about beating your competition.
High Demand
In towns around large colleges, apartments are in incredibly high demand. They are also usually not terribly great quality apartments. That’s not to say they’re low-quality apartments, but the requirements for college apartments are usually much lower. You simply need to have good furniture and access to a quality Internet connection. College students don’t often have many requirements beyond that. That means that these properties are low-cost investments.
Real Estate as Investment
Real estate anywhere, but especially in college towns, represents a very solid investment. A common adage states that real estate is the one thing that can’t be produced. There’s no way to make any more real estate. That means demand for real estate will never decrease. It will always be in high demand, and as colleges increase their enrollments, real estate in college towns will grow in demand. As long as the trend towards going to college increases, which all signs indicate it will, college town property will be a great investment. Also, students are starting to attend college for longer and longer. In addition to undergraduate degrees becoming more popular, graduate degrees are growing in popularity as well. Some students are staying in college for as many as eight or nine years to get degrees. Those are students who almost definitely won’t be living in the dorms. They’re also ones that can be counted on the most to pay their rent on time.
