Posts Tagged college towns

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Lafayette Competes With Other College Towns in Affordability

A couple years ago, I read “Life 2.0: How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness by Rich Karlgaard. A journalist and private pilot, Karlgaard makes the point that many of today’s creative jobs can be done remotely, so why not work in a cool, inexpensive place? He set out in his single-engine, four-seater and came up with a list of 100-plus progressive, hip, cool places to live.

Another point that became abundantly clear in his research was that almost every one of the cities on his list are college towns. He found that universities big and small added youth, creativity and energy to the cities and towns that surrounded them, improving their quality of life and their “cool quotient.”

His book ended up giving me another perspective on why Lafayette is one of those cool places to live, and now we have another reason to love, and live in, Lafayette. For the past several years, Coldwell Banker has been publishing the “College Home Listing Report , which ranks college towns across the country for home affordability. The current report provides the average home listing prices for three-bedroom, two-bathroom properties that were listed for sale by Coldwell Banker between August 2010 and August 2011 in markets home to 117 of the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

According to the report, three-bedroom homes cost less than $200,000 on average in nearly two-thirds of the college towns included (76 markets) and less than $150,000 in nearly one-quarter of towns (26 markets). In the most affordable market, Memphis, home to University of Memphis, the average listing price of a three-bedroom home is $89,244.

So, what about Louisiana and more specifically, Lafayette? Ive heard for years how expensive housing is in Lafayette. Ive done research and comparisons of the Lafayette and Houston real estate markets, and usually we do come out looking more expensive. However, I think that Karlgaard and Coldwell Banker are on to something. When it comes to livability, quality of life, amenities, energy and just plain living, aren’t there more factors to home affordability than just square footage, features and lot size?

Instead of just comparing our home affordability to other towns our size, why don’t we compare it to other college towns? Well, here’s our chance. Lafayette, with its beloved University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ranks #62 smack dab in the middle of the pack. The average home listing price for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is $183,793, second-highest in the state behind Baton Rouge, with an average of $194,518.

Here’s my point: Take what you know about living in Lafayette its amenities, culture, progressiveness and friendliness and compare that to what you know about living in other cities on the Louisiana list below. Still think Lafayette housing is too high?

View the full ranking and report at hlr.coldwellbanker.com .

22. Monroe (University of Louisiana Monroe) $147,372

27. Ruston (Louisiana Tech University) $150,121

53. New Orleans (Tulane University) $176,412

62. Lafayette (UL Lafayette) $183,793

73. Baton Rouge (Louisiana State University) $194,518

BCS Rankings (as of 11/13)

1. LSU/Baton Rouge $194,518

2. Oklahoma State/Stillwater $141,728

3. Alabama/Tuscaloosa (not included)

4. Oregon/Eugene   $244,964

5. Oklahoma/Norman $150,313

6. Arkansas/Fayetteville $165,643

7. Clemson/Clemson, SC $164,836

8. Virginia Tech/Blacksburg $258,332

9. Stanford/Palo Alto, CA $1,232,070

10. Boise State/Boise, ID $166,064

Most Affordable Markets Rankings

1. Memphis, TN (University of Memphis) $89,244

1. Westwood, Los Angeles, CA (University of California) $1,271,428