Last year Worcester Investments purchased its first student housing complex near the University of Kansas. Since this was a little different for us, we wasted no time getting down to the facts. While conducting market research on our student housing investment, we found a few interesting statistics that might make you consider expanding your own investment strategy.

Why More Students are Opting to Live Off-Campus than Ever Before

• The National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC) stated that in 2010 school-owned housing facilities could only accommodate about 30% of the enrolled student population.
• The cost of room and board at a public 4-year university is up 20% from five years ago; private 4-year universities charge 14% more than 5 years ago.
• The average full-time undergraduate enrolled in a public four-year college receives enough grant aid to cover a significant portion of tuition and fees, but not to cover any other expenses. Let’s break that down. If the average net price of tuition and fees is $3,120, that means the student is left with a net out-of-pocket cost of $9,500 for room and board.
• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, national college enrollment is projected to increase by approximately 2.3 million by 2020.