A new report from Redfin has identified Santa Barbara, California, as the priciest housing market among the nation’s 50 biggest college towns.
Santa Barbara is home to the University of California, Santa Barbara. The current median home sale price for this market is $1.96 million, up 4% from one year earlier. This is more than double the $820,000 median home sale price in second ranked Boca Raton, home to Florida Atlantic University.
Rounding out the top five is Flagstaff, where the Northern Arizona University is located, with a median home sale price of just under $700,000; Corvallis, where the Oregon State University is based, with a median home sale price of $568,507; and Orem, where the Utah Valley University is headquartered, with a median home sale price of $517,224.
At the far end of the spectrum, the least expensive college town is Dayton, Ohio, home to two major schools – Wright State University and the University of Dayton. The city’s median home sale price is roughly $137,000, which Redfin noted was also one of the least expensive US housing market.
“Home prices—and, by extension, rent—in some college towns have climbed so high they’re increasingly out of reach for students, faculty and staff,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “In a place like Santa Barbara or Flagstaff, high housing costs may push faculty and staff to live far from campus, and it also deters some professors from teaching there altogether. For students, high costs may mean they have to take on more debt and/or live far from campus.”
Photo of UC Santa Barbara courtesy of Coolcaesar / Wikimedia Commons
Southern Methodist University is located in the City of University Park Texas which Redfin itself says has a median home price of $2.1 Million. Because the City of Dallas has grown over the years to surround the Cities of University Park and adjacent Highland Park, they often are reported as being part of the City of Dallas. They are not, having separate city halls, police and fire departments, mayors, city councils, and school district.
Although they are probably not one of the 50 biggest college towns.
What about Palo Alto, Boulder and Evanston, Illinois?