Two Mich. College Towns Ranked In Top 10 Most Affordable Markets
YPSILANTI (WWJ) - A new report from Coldwell Banker found the state of Michigan is home to some of best housing bargains in America for college students.
When it comes to the most affordable market, Ypsilanti (Eastern Michigan University) was ranked third behind Memphis, Tenn. (University of Memphis) and Muncie, Ind. (Ball State University), while Kalamazoo (Western Michigan University) was ranked fifth behind Toledo, Ohio (University of Toledo).
Coldwell Banker Real Estate CEO Jim Gillespie said the 2011 College Home Listing Report ranked the average home listing prices in markets home to 117 of the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"These are three bedroom, two bathroom properties. In two-third of these markets, the price of the properties are under $200,000 and in a quarter of the markets, the prices are under $150,000," said Gillespie.
Ypsilanti properties are listed for an average of $107,458 and Kalamazoo properties are listed at an average of $116,455. The most affordable market is Memphis, with an average listing of $89,244.
"The midwest still is very, very reasonable as far as prices... Most of the most expensive properties are on the West coast," said Gillespie.
The West coast is home to five of the 10 most expensive towns, including the Los Angeles neighborhood that's home to UCLA ($1,271,428 average listing price) and Stanford's home town in Palo Alto ($1,232,070 average listing price).
"That same three bedroom, two bath property that cost $89,000 in Memphis costs $1.2 million in Palo Alto. So, obviously the West coast, five out of 10 of the most expensive markets are in California and eight of the 10 most expensive markets are on the West coast," said Gillespie.
College towns appear to be a very affordable choice for those who enjoy all the activities that come along with the territory.
"College towns are, I think, one of America's best kept secrets. They're very affordable, college campus obviously have the sports and the culture and the entertainment and research and so forth," said Gillespie.
Other Michigan cities that made the most affordable list were: 42. Mt. Pleasant (Central Michigan University - $164,168), 68. East Lansing (Michigan State University - $190,484) and 89. Ann Arbor (University of Michigan - $251,119).
