This morning, I was interviewed on Fox Business, where I was asked the question: just how recession-proof can the real estate markets in college towns be?  (Here’s the video. )

My answer:  VERY.

I looked at the Trulia data on 5 towns across the country where the local college or university is the biggest thing going, in terms of local economics.  Here’s what I found:

Ann Arbor, Michigan — Home of the University of Michigan

• A true blue college town: about 30% of the town’s population is students, and almost another third are employed by the school.
• Ann Arbor’s median home price is $209,000 — about the same as it was this time last year — that certainly outperforms the state of Michigan’s real estate market!
• Ann Arbor has about 60% less foreclosure activity than in Michigan, overall .
• Noteworthy: Ann Arbor’s unemployment rate in March was was 8.9 percent; Michigan’s overall was 14.1 percent.

Syracuse, NY: Home of Syracuse University

• Used to have some large industrial employers, but now the top employers are State U of NY medical university and Syracuse University.

• Median home price is $75,000: down 2% year-over-year.
• Syracuse, like many college towns, never had a huge increase in values, so there was almost no price bubble to burst.
• Syracuse has certainly has some price declines, but Syracuse has less than half the foreclosure activity than NY state overall.

• In Syracuse, 6.03 percent of the homes listed for sale on Trulia have had at least one price reduction — compared with 20% nationally. (April 2010)

Lawrence, KS: Home of Kansas University

• Pure college town — city population of 90,000, and the school has over 35,000 students
• Lawrence’s median sales price is $206,320 — up 76.7% — way up — clearly bucking the national trend
• Lawrence has about 70% less foreclosure activity than Kansas, overall.

Champaign, IL: Home of the University of Illinois

• Champaign’s median sales price is $135,000 — up 0.7% year-over-year
• Champaign has about 73% less foreclosure activity than Illinois, overall.
• In Champaign, 5.26 percent of the homes actively listed for sale have had at least one price reduction — compared with 20% nationally. (April 2010)
• Champaign has really bucked the trend for the Illinois real estate market, which many think may experience a double dip
• Many large, public universities like the University of Illinois have their own credit unions and mortgage programs for employees, which may minimize the impact of the credit crunch and make it easier for employees to buy local homes, especially since mortgages from other sources have dried up.

State Coll ege, PA: Home of Penn State

• The State College median sales price for April is $229,000 — up 1.8% year-over-year.

• It’s made all sorts of ‘best places’ lists: best places to live, least stressful place to live, safest place to live, etc.
• This town’s nickname is Happy Valley — it got that nickname during the Great Depression, because the depression didn’t hit as hard there as it did everywhere else.
• The same has held true during this recession — the rate of homes receiving foreclosure notices is dramatically lower than the state of PA overall.
• State College has about 82% less foreclosure activity than Pennsylvania, overall.

In a lot of these state schools, enrollment has been rising throughout the recession — and so have dorm fees!

If you’re a parent with a student in school in one of these towns, it’s worth considering buying a 3 bedroom home and renting out two rooms — your kid could live in the 3rd bedroom for free, if you take the rental income and tax advantages into account!