Should You Invest In Student Housing? Pros, Cons, & Tips For College Rentals

  • Ram Vaidyanathan
  • Aug 8th 2021
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So you're considering whether or not to invest in student housing. This decision can be a tricky one, but luckily our experts are here to help! Along with the pros and cons of student housing investment, we also have some tips for college rentals. If you're thinking of getting into the market, this is definitely a post that you should read!

The rental-real estate market has been experiencing a boom in recent years — and while this is good news for landlords (and bad news for renters), it's even better news for investors who have been looking at ways to diversify their portfolios. The higher demand has led to rising returns on student housing investments over the last few years.

Why should you invest in student housing? Here are five good reasons why:

  1. You could make a lot of money — especially if you buy in at the right time. The rental-real estate market has been experiencing a boom in recent years — and while this is good news for landlords (and bad news for renters), it's even better news for investors who have been looking at ways to diversify their portfolios. The higher demand has led to rising returns on student housing investments over the last few years. Across the nation, the median return was 8% annually within the last 10 years, but student housing investors could potentially see triple-digit returns by investing during this same time period.

Student housing investment is a great way to potentially capitalize on the trend. Take Rents for College, for example — they're considered one of the top student housing investing platforms available today. If you invest in student housing with Rents for College, you could make an estimated 6% to 8% compounded annually from your student housing investment.

  1. Student housing can be an extremely valuable asset class in its own right, adding another layer of security to your portfolio. Student housing is a very common and valuable asset class today, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. With a diverse portfolio of assets, investors can diversify their investments by adding student housing into the mix.

  2. Student housing has a seasonal trend that makes it an ideal asset class to invest in. Due to the fact that the demand for student housing is typically high during the summer months when students are on break, this asset class tends to be popular with investors for many years throughout the year. Because of this, it's easy to see why it's so popular among investors. If you have your money in other types of assets that don't have a seasonal trend, student housing could be your answer to boosting your return on investment (ROI).

  3. Student housing is a great way to increase both your income and your buy-in in a diversified portfolio. One of the biggest challenges today for investors is the fact that returns are limited. If you're not willing to invest in and hold individual assets, you can't really hope to beat inflation.

With student housing, you have an opportunity to turn your investment into income, as well as an opportunity to diversify your portfolio by adding another asset class to it. In the end, student housing is a great way to make your money work harder for you.

  1. Student housing provides a great opportunity for your portfolio to grow multifamily — and today's buyers will benefit from this, as commercial real estate continues to grow and commercial property prices rise across the country. Even if you're not looking to buy property at this time, student housing is still an asset class that you should consider investing in because it can help you grow your portfolio into the future.

In fact, down the road, you can transition more of your assets into multifamily properties with majority equity — and that's something that we want for all of our investors here at Rents for College. With multifamily property prices continuing to rise, you can expect students to continue to want affordable housing options like student housing.

While it's true that the rental real estate market has been experiencing a boom in recent years — and while this is good news for investors — it's even better news for investors that have been looking at ways to diversify their portfolios. The higher demand has led to rising returns on student housing investments over the last few years.

Along with the pros and cons of student housing investment, we also have some tips for college rentals. If you're thinking of getting into the market, this is definitely an article that you should read!

Some of the basic tips for college rentals include:

  1. Contract early.

  2. Negotiate all terms in writing.

  3. Don't pay cash upfront, unless you have a fixed-term lease that depends on it. By paying rent before you move in, you're basically committing to move out by the end of the year — which is something less secure than a fixed-term lease with rent due on moving-in and moving-out dates.

  4. Don't be afraid to ask for a concession or reduced rent, if you really need it. If you want a two-year rate, and the landlord or real estate agent is only offering a one-year rate, try negotiating it down to a one-and-a-half year rate — at least, you'll know that by the end of your one year (and six months), you'll be able to move ahead with the second year of your lease term.

The rental-real estate market has been experiencing a boom in recent years — and while this is good news for landlords (and bad news for renters), it's even better news for investors who have been looking at ways to diversify their portfolios. The higher demand has led to rising returns on student housing investments over the last few years.

The rental-real estate market is hot today — which means you could be able to make some serious money on student housing. Across the nation, the median return was 8% annually within the last 10 years, but student housing investors could potentially see triple-digit returns by investing during this same time period.

Student housing is an excellent addition to any investor's portfolio — especially when you consider that student housing serves a much smaller population than other asset classes do! Investing in rental properties like student housing can be an incredibly rewarding experience — and one that can add a lot of value and security to your portfolio all at once. Do you currently have a student housing investment? What other tips would you recommend to new investors looking to enter the market? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The opinions and forecasts expressed in this material are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

For more information, you can visit Calculate investment property return without a spreadsheet.