The Best College Towns for Buying a Short-Term Rental Investment Property

Is there anything better than a swig of beer while watching college football? Well, if you own your own property and have the means to throw a Super Bowl party for those football enthusiast friends of yours, then there is! We all like to think of ourselves as smart investors. It comes naturally to the smart investor/football enthusiast to couple short-term rental investment property with the love of football that many share!

“Football doesn’t build character, it eliminates the weak ones.” – Darrell K. Royal

And so does real estate! Real estate investors with investment portfolios of all shapes and sizes invest in vacation home rentals.

Are you considering buying a short-term rental investment property in a college town?

Real estate investing in short-term rentals is not a new concept anymore. Beginner real estate investors are even choosing to buy a short-term rental investment property to be the first investment property they own! Through the natural order of things, real estate investors are always trying to find investment opportunities in places with a heavy demand for short-term rentals. Accordingly, buying a short-term rental investment property in a college town offers just that. With a steady flow of rental income and a high Airbnb occupancy rate, it’s a real estate investor’s dream come true!

Be that as it may, when friends or families choose to visit a city to watch a football game, they would definitely choose a vacation home rental over multiple hotel rooms. Keep in mind that vacation home rentals offer the advantage of dynamic pricing during high seasons! For the average real estate investor, this can multiply the nightly rate more than 10 times!

Related: College Towns: The Best Places to Buy a Rental Property

The best college towns for buying a short-term rental investment property

Providence, Rhode Island

With the many football teams and games that Providence locals enjoy, it’s definitely a niche in the short-term rental market to accommodate visitors. With a well-renowned name, colleges and universities are attracting real estate investors to invest in short-term rental investment properties and vacation home rentals to accommodate short-term visits of families, friends and the good old-fashioned fans!

Let’s take a look at the Providence real estate market stats provided by Mashvisor:

• Median Property Price: $301,524
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.89%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $2,767
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,376
• Walkscore: 74.22

At first glance, the real estate data for Providence assures real estate investors with the solid rental income of $2,767 through Airbnb rentals. Additionally, Providence has a walk score of 74.22 which implies that you can run most errands and commute in the town on foot.

Urbana, Illinois

Illinois sure deserves as many vacation home rentals and short-term rentals as they can get! With 5 national championships and 15 big ten championships, it only makes sense that it has the 8^th most NFL Hall of Famers in college football history. So, why should you invest in a short-term rental investment property in Urbana, Illinois?

To answer that, let’s take a look at Urbana’s real estate market stats:

• Median Property Price: $193,333
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.91%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 1.3%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $1,926
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,152
• Walkscore: 81

Known for affordable real estate prices and high hospitality scores, Urbana defies the odds and lands a touchdown with an Airbnb cap rate of 3.91%!

To learn more about how we will help you make faster and smarter real estate investment decisions, click here.

Corpus Christi, Texas

For those who are unaware, Corpus Christi is a Texan city located on the Gulf of Mexico. College football is among the many attractions of this Texas destination! It harbors a large amount of wildlife and houses a naval aviation museum.

Let’s take a look at Corpus Christi real estate stats provided by Mashvisor’s investment property calculator:

• Median Property Price: $281,175
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 5.29%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 1.62%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $2,908
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,482
• Walkscore: 30

If you’re looking for an investment property in Texas, Corpus Christi should be on your top list! It’s suitable for real estate investing whether for short-term rentals or long-term rentals.

Considering Texas as a destination for a short-term rental investment property? Read this blog post: Texas Real Estate Market 2018 Steals 7/15 Spots in New Study for Top Markets.

Statesboro, Georgia

Statesboro is home to the flagship campus of Georgia Southern University. Therefore, it made it on the list of the best places to buy a short-term rental investment property.

Let’s take a look at real estate stats derived from Mashvisor

• Median Property Price: $157,073
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 4.91%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 1.44%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $1,631
• Traditional Rental Income: $857
• Walkscore: 69

The City of Statesboro is among the many cities and towns in Georgia that welcome guests with their Airbnb rentals!

If you’re looking to buy an investment property in Georgia, read this blog post and start real estate investing: Are You Ready for the Georgia Super Tuesday Foreclosure Auction?

Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland has made it on many lists thanks to its dense and diverse real estate history! This time it’s making it on the list of best cities to invest in short-term rental investment property for college football purposes. Let’s take a look at Baltimore’s real estate market stats:

• Median Property Price: $236,408
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.3%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 3.33%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $2,057
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,627
• Walkscore: 71

Baltimore might fall on the low-end of real estate most of the times, but when it comes to showing hospitality to Airbnb guests, Baltimore residents have become masters at it! With affordable real estate and a strong football presence to back it up, real estate investors are diving into this real estate market!

Norman, Oklahoma

Oklahoma takes the championships with the highest marks in hospitality! With a hospitality score of 74%, it’s clear that Airbnb guests are enjoying themselves in their short-term rentals. If you’re a real estate investor looking to start making money in real estate with short-term rentals, Norman should be your obvious option. Take a look at the real estate stats provided by Mashvisor for Norman’s real estate market:

• Median Property Price: $274,031
• Airbnb Rental Income: $1,883
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,092
• Walkscore: 72

Finding a short-term rental investment property in Norman’s real estate market is not a tough one to achieve. Even if you’re going for out-of-state real estate investing, you will find major help from the people of the town.

 Tucson, Arizona

We end our list with a hint of Arizona! There’s no doubt that Tucson’s real estate market is strong for both a short-term rental investment property and a long-term rental as well! In any case, real estate investors can choose any investment strategy they seek as long as they analyze their real estate investment property. Let’s take a look at Mashvisor’s analytical stats for Tucson:

• Median Property Price: $262,421
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 1.41%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 1.03%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $1,573
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,127
• Walkscore: 32.9

While it may not be the best city to take a walk in, it sure ranks high with hospitality rates on Airbnb! This is sure to attract tenants to the location. Moreover, many real estate investors are trying out different real estate investment strategies here.

How to determine the best short-term rental investment property in any of the above markets

Over the course of many real estate investment decisions, real estate investors were relying on spreadsheets and hand-collected data to base decisions on. Lucky for you, you don’t have to do things the old way anymore. You can simply run a comparative market analysis to find out all the real estate factors that make a proper investment property. In many cases, real estate investors are able to predict a certain return on investment through careful analytical factors like the cap rate and cash on cash return.

Since we’re talking about buying a short-term rental investment property, Mashvisor can help you conduct a thorough comparative market analysis in addition to accurate Airbnb occupancy rates of each real estate market!

To start looking for and analyzing the best investment properties in your city and neighborhood of choice, click here.

Final Words

The real estate investing world is one that requires real estate investors to do just a little bit more digging than others to get things done! Whether you choose Georgia or Texas to be the home of your first short-term rental investment property, it’s a sure thing that you’ll find the right investment property and score a touchdown with proper market research. So, start real estate investing today for the return on investment of tomorrow!

If you have any more insights on the topic, please share them with us in the comments section.