And in 60% of these cities - for students on a three-year degree graduating this year - house price growth would have covered the £27,000 tuition fees they had to pay - or rather their parents had to pay.
HouseSimple has identified university cities where parents could buy a second home or buy-to-let for their child to live in while they’re studying, and the house price growth over the duration of their three-year degree could cover the cost of tuition. HouseSimple has looked at how local property markets have performed since 2013 to calculate potential price growth over the next three years, for students starting university in September.
For example, parents with kids starting at Manchester University could easily cover tuition fees for a three-year degree on house price growth alone, assuming prices continue to increase at the rate they have since 2013. An average property in Manchester is currently £147,700, while house prices have risen on average £10,036 a year over the past three years. That’s a total profit of £30,108 to cover course fees.
Similarly, in Birmingham the current average property price is £153,926, and prices have increased £42,697 since 2013. If the average rate of growth continued at the same level for the next three years, parents with children studying at Birmingham or Aston could cover tuition fees and general living costs on house price growth alone.
Although property prices have risen fastest in London, there are very few parents who could realistically buy a property for their child studying in the
capital.
Instead, in the table below, HouseSimple has looked at university cities with average house prices below the UK average - and which of the Top 50 university cities have the lowest prices, and also where price growth since 2013 is more than £20,000, enough to cover at least two-thirds of the tuition fees on a three-year degree.
Top of the class is Queen’s University, Belfast, where current average prices are just £110,042, making property cheap enough for parents to buy a second home, and house price growth over the next three years, based on price rises since 2013, could be just under £21,000 (£20,766).
Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com comments:
“It’s hardly surprising that young people are thinking twice about heading off to university when they’re faced with a £27,000 headache that they have to pay back. But for those parents fortunate enough to be able to afford a second property, there could be a way to give your offspring a debt-free start in life, depending on where they go to university.
“There’s a good chance parents of undergraduates will be expected to help cover the cost of rent, tuition or both. By investing in a second home, your child won’t have to pay living costs, as the rent will cover that, and the increase in capital value could cover the cost of tuition fees."
