Lubbock, Texas, Tops Coldwell Banker® List As Nation"s Most Affordable College Town To Buy Residential Real Estate

Coldwell Banker College Market Home Price Comparison Index Evaluates Cost Variances in 59 U.S. College Towns

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Wednesday, November 02, 2005) - Every Saturday in the fall, America’s most prominent college towns swell with thousands of visitors who participate in the pageantry of college football. But what if these fans wanted to live there year round? Which of these college towns are the most affordable and which are the most expensive?


The first-ever Coldwell Banker®College Market Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) found that fans and alumni of Texas Tech should stand and cheer. Lubbock, Texas, the home of the Red Raiders, ranks as the most affordable college town in the study, with an average home price of $164,133. Palo Alto, Calif., home of StanfordUniversity, topped the charts as the most expensive college town in the index at $1,550,000.


The College Market HPCI evaluated average home values for a single-family dwelling in a middle-management community measuring approximately 2,200 square feet with four bedrooms, two and one-half baths, a family room (or equivalent) and two-car garage1. The snapshot study examined 59markets that are home to the premier college football programs in the country.


“College towns can be great places to live because they are family-friendly, lively communities with an abundance of activities ranging from sports and entertainment to high culture,” says Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. “A large majority of these towns are also very affordable, making them ideal for first-time homeowners or baby boomers looking for a second home near their alma mater. And lately, many parents of college students are foregoing paying room and board to schools, preferring to own a home for their child to live in and collect rent from their roommates to apply to the mortgage.”


Gillespie noted that through an enhanced Home Price Comparison Index section on www.coldwellbanker.com, consumers can calculate what their homes might be worth in these 59 college communities.


The Web site also includes data from the full Coldwell Banker HPCI report previously released on Sept. 22, which ranked 319 U.S.markets in affordability for the same 2,200 square foot subject home. The average price for these 319 markets was $401,767, compared to $324,626 for the 59 college towns.





The top 10 most affordable college markets for home prices in 2005 are: Rank
School
Town
2005 Avg. Price

1
TexasTech
Lubbock, Texas
$164,133

2
MississippiState
Starkville, Miss.
$169,433

3
LSU
Baton Rouge, La.
$173,317

4
Notre Dame
South Bend, Ind.
$173,600

5
Tennessee
Knoxville, Tenn.
$175,250

6
Clemson
Clemson, S.C.
$176,475

7
Baylor
Waco, Texas
$178,500

8
Mississippi
Oxford, Miss.
$179,550

9
KansasState
Manhattan, Kan.
$185,850

10
South Carolina
Columbia, S.C.
$190,058




The top 10 most expensive college markets for home prices in 2005 are: Rank
School
Town
2005 Avg. Price

1
Stanford
Palo Alto, Calif.
$1,550,000

2
UCLA/USC
Los Angeles
$1,274,342

3
California
Berkeley, Calif.
$1,186,500

4
BostonCollege
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
$811,525

5
Northwestern
Evanston, Ill.
$674,250

6
Miami
Coral Gables, Fla.
$671,854

7
Colorado
Boulder, Colo.
$546,350

8
Maryland
College Park, Md.
$462,035

9
Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minn.
$397,133

10
Washington
Seattle
$386,600







The following charts rank the major college football conferences and Notre Dame. The most affordable conference is listed at the top. Each school in the conference is listed with the most affordable at top:

Independent
Town
2005 Price

Notre Dame
South Bend, Ind.
$173,600



Southeastern Conference
Town
2005 Price

MississippiState
Starkville, Miss.
$169,433

LSU
Baton Rouge, La.
$173,317

Tennessee
Knoxville, Tenn.
$175,250

Mississippi
Oxford, Miss.
$179,550

South Carolina
Columbia, S.C.
$190,058

Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn.
$209,300

Kentucky
Lexington, Ky.
$209,588

Georgia
Athens, Ga.
$218,800

Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
$226,050

Arkansas
Fayetteville, Ark.
$227,050

Auburn
Auburn, Ala.
$233,700

Florida
Gainesville, Fla.
$259,950

Average price
$206,004




Big 12
Town
2005 Avg. Price

TexasTech
Lubbock, Texas
$164,133

Baylor
Waco, Texas
$178,500

KansasState
Manhattan, Kan.
$185,850

TexasA&M
College Station, Texas
$190,964

Texas
Austin, Texas
$199,381

OklahomaState
Stillwater, Okla.
$210,000

Oklahoma
Norman, Okla.
$210,700

Missouri
Columbia, Mo.
$228,525

Kansas
Lawrence, Kan.
$237,237

IowaState
Ames, Iowa
$265,988

Nebraska
Lincoln, Neb.
$313,516

Colorado
Boulder, Colo.
$546,350

Average price
$244,262




Big East
Town
2005 Avg. Price

Louisville
Louisville, Ky.
$190,967

Syracuse
Syracuse, N.Y.
$217,028

Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pa.
$243,100

Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
$266,500

West Virginia
Morgantown, W.V.
$290,000

South Florida
Tampa, Fla.
$318,125

Connecticut
Storrs, Conn.
$356,172

Rutgers
New Brunswick/
Piscataway, N.J.
$386,250

Average price
$283,518






Big Ten
Town
2005 Avg. Price

Indiana
Bloomington, Ind.
$194,250

Purdue
West Lafayette, Ind.
$203,000

Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
$206,625

MichiganState
East Lansing, Mich.
$218,875

Illinois
Urbana/Champaign, Ill.
$223,317

OhioState
Columbus, Ohio
$243,725

PennState
State College, Pa.
$277,187

Wisconsin
Madison, Wis.
$289,900

Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
$346,500

Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minn.
$397,133

Northwestern
Evanston, Ill.
$674,250

Average price
$297,706




AtlanticCoastConference
Town
2005 Avg. Price

Clemson
Clemson, S.C.
$176,475

North Carolina St.
Raleigh, N.C.
$205,333

WakeForest
Winston-Salem, N.C.
$205,440

Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Va.
$220,942

Duke
Durham, N.C.
$231,687

North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.
$294,388

FloridaState
Tallahassee, Fla.
$296,191

Georgia Tech
Atlanta, Ga.
$303,000

Virginia
Charlottesville, Va.
$315,000

Maryland
College Park, Md.
$462,035

Miami
Coral Gables, Fla.
$671,854

BostonCollege
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
$811,525

Average price
$349,489




PAC-10
Town
2005 Avg. Price

Arizona
Tucson, Ariz.
$250,833

OregonState
Corvallis, Ore.
$282,450

WashingtonState
Pullman, Wash.
$301,000

Oregon
Eugene, Ore.
$327,000

ArizonaState
Tempe, Ariz.
$345,000

Washington
Seattle, Wash.
$386,600

California
Berkeley, Calif.
$1,186,500

UCLA
Los Angeles
$1,274,342

USC
Los Angeles
$1,274,342

Stanford
Palo Alto, Calif.
$1,550,000

Average price
$717,807






Methodology — 2005 Coldwell Banker ® College Market Home Price Comparison Index:

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation conducted its College Market Home Price Comparison Index study by compiling survey data from Coldwell Banker®offices throughout the United States. Companies within the Coldwell Banker system submitted data based on the average sales price of sold listings in 2005 or a comparative market analysis of homes sold in 2004. Because no Coldwell Banker offices serve Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Stillwater, Okla.; Lincoln, Neb.; Charlottesville, Va.; and Morgantown, W. Va., the average prices reflected in the study were from local Multiple Listing Service data collected on Sept. 20, 2005. The criteria for the College Market HPCI subject home is: single-family dwelling, 2,200 square feet (approximately)2, four bedrooms, two and one-half baths, family room (or equivalent) and two-car garage in neighborhoods/zip codes within a market that is typical for corporate middle-management transferees.






About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier provider of full-service real estate. In 2005, Franchise Times magazine's prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system number one in real estate and number nine among all franchisors. The Coldwell Banker System has more than 3,900 residential and commercial real estate offices and 126,000 Sales Associates in 29 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new homes and luxury properties through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/web based lenders in the country and the Coldwell Banker Commercial® network is an industry leader in providing commercial real estate solutions that serve the needs of tenants, landlords, sellers and buyers in the leasing, acquisition, disposition and management of all property types. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD). © 2006 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation Coldwell Banker® licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. Each office is independently owned and operated except for offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.

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