10 February 2016

It’s no secret buying a home for your son or daughter attending the University of Guelph can be profitable, however, once you’ve made the decision to buy, the next thing you have to do is determine what kind of home you are going to purchase.

Most parents start off with a detached home in mind, something small, freehold, walking distance to the University of Guelph and close to all major amenities. This certainly is an option, however if you’re working with a budget of under $350,000 it can be quite difficult to find something that meets all of those requirements that is in move in condition… and by quite difficult I mean next to impossible!

A more economical and practical alternative tends to be one of the several condominium townhome complexes within a few kilometres of the University of Guelph that are accessible by bus route and predominantly filled with U of G students. 

This kind of housing option is great for kids and parents alike. The students love being surrounded by their peers and you the parent can take comfort in the fact that your monthly condo fee usually covers everything outside of your unit, including roof and exterior, windows and doors, foundational leaks, lawn maintenance, snow removal, building insurance and the general care of the common elements. 

Another thing you can feel safe about is knowing these complexes are managed by a property management company, so if having your child live in a 24 hour rip-roaring party zone is a major concern to you, you can be rest assured the property management company has your back and any parties that get too out-of-hand should be dealt with fairly quickly. 

Now, if you’re not working with a local Guelph Realtor already, I would suggest you find one that knows the student landscape. Many of the townhome complexes close to the University of Guelph have strict rules against students living there, so unless you’re working with a local pro who knows which complexes allow students and which ones don’t, you may end up spending a lot of wasted time and energy investigating complexes that will ultimately not allow your son or daughter to move in. 

As a local Realtor who knows a thing or two about the Guelph student landscape, I wanted to highlight some of these complexes that are student-friendly, and also show how they’ve performed over the last 5 years from an investment perspective. I chose to research only 5 of these complexes that met certain criteria. These are not the only condominium townhome complexes available, however they are considered to be some of the more popular ones for student living. 

You can see from the numbers above, the units at 1055 Gordon seem to have performed the best overall in the last 5 years from an investment perspective. I can’t help but point out the fact that in 2014, the average sale price of a unit at 1055 Gordon jumped to an astounding $42,750 higher than they were just one year before! Amazing. Wouldn’t you have loved to be on the winning side of that deal?

Unfortunately, we can’t all be that lucky, and certainly not all of the time, but even with the lowest performing complex, 302 College, at a 5 year average sales price increase of 3.47% per year, it’s still not all that bad of an investment if you consider the fact your son or daughter would have had a safe and secure housing option over those last 5 years. It certainly beats renting and having nothing to show for it. 

Of course, equity increases are not the only concern when it comes to finding a home for your beloved children. You want to make sure they have the essential items they need such as amenities, access to transportation and a certain quality of life that can’t be measured in dollar signs. 

Here are some additional facts to consider about each complex:

I have to say I believe the units at 66 Rodgers Rd have always been undervalued. You will pay approximately $40,000 less for a unit there than you will at 1055 or 1155 Gordon and you have a Zehrs grocery store literally right across the road from you! The closest direct bus stop is right outside the Hartsland Zehrs plaza and on a warm sunny day, a walk to school or a quick bike ride is certainly not out of the question. 

However, the one thing you will find at 1055 and 1155 Gordon you won’t find at any of these other 5 complexes are walkout basements that back onto green space. Walkout basements are highly desirable for a number of reasons on their own, but coupled with the fact that some of these units back onto protected green space simply makes them that much more desirable and arguably considered the cream of the crop when it comes to these 5 complexes. The only problem with purchasing one of these units is waiting for one to come for sale and snagging it up before anyone else can!

Clearly there is a lot to consider when finding that perfect home for your son or daughter to attend the University of Guelph. Working with a local Guelph Realtor who knows the student landscape will help make your search that much easier as you can be sure you are searching for all the right properties in all the right places, and that you’re receiving the most accurate and up to date information available. 

Until next time, Happy Investing!

* Disclaimer: Most of this data was pulled from the MLS system, however some stats were taken from Geo Warehouse where only one sale was available for a particular complex for a particular year. In order to keep all of my search criteria comparable for all 5 complexes, I only included search results between 1100 – 1300 square feet to eliminate the 1000 square foot layouts at 302 College Ave and the results for 920 Edinburgh were selectively chosen to include only the units with attached 1 car garages.

Kyle Woods

REALTOR®

226.314.1600

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