Among the list of SEC schools in the Waller, Weeks, and Johnson Rental Index, Tuscaloosa ranks as the most competitive, where the average rent of $1,504 is $30, or 2%, lower than the expected rent of $1,534. This is according to ongoing, monthly report co-produced by the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama, Florida Atlantic University Real Estate Initiative, and Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance.
“These results reflect that the University of Alabama provides a win-win in terms of top athletics and academics, and affordable rents in Tuscaloosa said Bennie Waller, Ph.D., of The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business and research associate at the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE). Complete interactive data for both the US and Alabama can be found here.
The most overpriced SEC rental market is Oxford, MS, (Ole Miss) with average rent of $1,577, which is almost 16% higher than predicted rent of $1,363. The Y-O-Y increase in rates in Oxford was 24.8% compared with rents in Tuscaloosa of just under 7%, while nearby Starkville (MS State) witnessed an increase of 1.6% in Y-O-Y rents. The only Y-O-Y decrease in rents was in Baton Rouge (LSU) of approximately 0.5%. Other SEC college towns saw increases in Y-O-Y rents of 15.2%, 12.0%, and 11.8% in Athens, GA (UGA), Auburn, AL, and Knoxville (UT) respectively.
Nashville, TN (home to Vanderbilt), is the most expensive SEC market with rents ending March 2023 of $1,901, with 4.98% increase in Y-O-Y in rents. “Nashville, while being home to Vanderbilt, is not a typical college town, but rather an urban area with an SEC school,” said Bennie Waller. Columbia, MO (home of Mizzou) is the least expensive SEC market with average rents of $1,093 and an increase in Y-O-Y in rents of 10.5%.
Shelton Weeks, Ph.D., of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance said, “it’s important for all schools to provide information regarding room and board for students who live on campus. However, most students at least consider living off campus at some point during college. As a result, we believe this information will be useful in the budgeting process for students and their families.”
“Many parents find themselves choosing which SEC school to send their children to. Our goal was to produce a quick analysis to help those parents make more informed decisions concerning rents in the various SEC markets,” said Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., an economist in FAU’s College of Business.
