Revealed: the university towns where house prices have risen most over the course of a degree

If your child is starting university in the next month and you’re planning to foot the bill for their student accommodation, consider this: average house prices in the UK’s university towns have risen by the same amount as a typical student loan during the course of a three-year undergraduate degree.

The combined tuition fee and maintenance loan for students starting a course outside London this year will amount to £39,500 by the end of a three-year degree course, for those with no additional financial assistance.

The average price of a house in the UK’s university towns rose by £39,000 – an average of 22 per cent – in the three years since 2014, when this year’s cohort of graduates started Fresher’s Week, according to a report released today by Halifax.

“While it is well documented that the student housing market can be lucrative for private landlords receiving monthly rental incomes, this research also indicates the potential earnings from bricks and mortar alone,” said Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax Community Bank.

“Over the last three years, parents who bought a property for their child to live in while undertaking their studies, could have seen an average gain of 22 per cent on the value of the property. They may also have benefitted from rental income from housemates or flat-sharers.”

TOWNS WITH TOP MARKS
All 10 of the university towns with the largest house price growth were in the South of England, which also had some of the highest house prices.

Guildford, home to the University of Surrey, was the UK’s most expensive university town with an average house price of £512,000. It also experienced the largest house price increase – £105,000 in three years.

The biggest three-year percentage house price rise was near the University of Bedfordshire, which has its main campus in Luton, where a 42 per cent increase pushed prices to £285,000 over the period of an undergraduate degree.

By comparison, at an average of £123,000, homes in the cheapest university town – Paisley, home to the University of West Scotland – cost less than a quarter the price of those in Guildford.

10 UNIVERSITY TOWNS WITH HIGHEST HOUSE PRICE GROWTH SINCE 2014

Source: Halifax, 12 months to July 2017