Chestnut Hill among priciest college areas
Study says homes near BC average over $800,000
WASHINGTON -- The Chestnut Hill section of Newton around Boston College ranks fourth on a list of the 10 most expensive college markets for home prices in 2005, according to a comparison released this week.
The study, based on data compiled by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.'s offices nationwide, compared average prices in 59 major football conference college towns, plus the University of Notre Dame, for a 2,200-square-foot, single-family dwelling, with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a two-car garage, in a ''middle-management community."
Topping the list was Palo Alto, Calif., home of Stanford University, where housing prices averaged $1.55 million. The average price for Chestnut Hill was $811,525.
The most affordable market was Lubbock, Texas, home of Texas Tech, where the average was $164,133.
''College towns can be great places to live because they are family-friendly, lively communities with an abundance of activities," Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive of Coldwell Banker, said in a statement released with the study. He said a ''large majority are also very affordable," leading some parents of some college students to get out of paying for room and board by buying investment properties for their children to live in.
Towns in the South and Midwest made up the list of Top 10 most affordable college markets.
After Lubbock came Starkville, Miss., home of Mississippi State University, $169,433; Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University, $173,317; South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame, $173,600; Knoxville, University of Tennessee, $175,250; Clemson, S.C., Clemson University, $176,475; Waco, Texas, Baylor University, $178,500; Oxford, University of Mississippi, $179,550; Manhattan, Kan., Kansas State University, $185,850; and Columbia, University of South Carolina, $190,058.
The most expensive college markets, besides Palo Alto and Chestnut Hill, included Los Angeles, UCLA/USC, $1.27 million; Berkeley, University of California, $1.19 million; Evanston, Ill., Northwestern University, $674,250; Coral Gables, Fla., University of Miami, $671,854; Boulder, University of Colorado, $546,350; College Park, University of Maryland, $462,035; Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, $397,133; and Seattle, University of Washington, $386,600.
