Why College Towns Are Looking Smart?

Real estate investments in college towns has been always considered very safe bet. Here are brief reasons

- In United States, total college enrollment is expected to increase for next 10 years.
- During recession, college (especially graduate school) enrollment tend to go up.
- Many graduates start business or remain in town to get the jobs --- this contributes economic advancement of college town.
- College town is full of entertainment such as museum, college sports games, etc...
- College town is also very popular relocation destination for 75 million baby boomers.

This is one of the main reason why I invest in Austin Tx, home of nationally recognized University of Texas at Austin. In fact, while nationwide economy are sluggish, Austin Tx consistently gaining populations and jobs.

Anyhow, this is article from Wall Street Journal, titled "Why College Towns Are Looking Smart".

It features Morgantown WV, home of West Virginia University, as quintessential college town where job is abundant and town is booming. As seen from this chart, unemoloyment rate is very low at 3.9% in Morgantown. Logan UT (Utah State University) and Ames IA (Iowa State University) also enjoy super-low unemployment. This is exactly the reason why college town investment are considered very secure one.

I feel strongly about continuous investment in Ausitn Tx for same reason. In addition, since Ausitn Tx is capital of Texas, investor can also expect some boost moving forward as government stimulous money is trickling down to Austin.

Below is some of good article regarding college town real estate investments:

WSJ - How to Earn Money Off Campus As Rest of Housing Market Cools
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20070321-kim.html

WSJ - Seven Tips for Managing College-Town Rentals
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20070321-kim2.html

WSJ - The Pros and Cons Of Living Off Campus
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20070321-mattioli2.html

WSJ - Recommended Reading: Investing In College Town Real Estate
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20070321-mattioli.html

Business 2.0 - Own Where Kids Are
http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/24/magazines/business2/newrules_colleges.biz2/index.htm

Kiplinger - Attraction of College Town
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/05/collegetowns.html

Forbes - Exploiting College Boom
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2006/1211/186.html

Happy Investing!!!!!