Is Buying ASU Student Housing Better Than Renting?

For many Arizona parents, college planning eventually becomes a pretty expensive question:

How are we going to pay for four years of tuition, housing and everything else that comes with college?

Most families immediately think about 529 plans, savings, student loans or possibly pulling money from retirement accounts.

But there may be another strategy worth considering.

What if real estate could become part of the college funding plan?

Think About an ASU Student

Arizona State University’s Tempe campus has approximately 51,200 students enrolled for fall 2026.

For families sending a child to ASU, housing can become a significant part of the overall college expense.

Instead of automatically paying rent for four years, some parents might consider purchasing a condo or townhouse in Tempe for their student to live in.

Depending on the family’s situation, that property could potentially:

• Provide housing for the student
• Allow roommates to contribute rent
• Build equity through principal reduction
• Participate in potential property appreciation
• Become a rental property after graduation
• Be sold after college
• Potentially become a future home for the child

The key is not assuming buying is automatically better than renting.

The strategy needs to be modeled.

A Real Example From My CLA Training

One case study involved parents with twin boys heading to college.

Instead of paying approximately $800 per month in rent, the family purchased a second home near the university. An additional bedroom was rented for $400 per month, helping offset the mortgage payment.

Over the four-year college period, the strategy projected more than $43,000 of benefit through appreciation and principal reduction, while helping the parents avoid tapping their 401(k).

Obviously, those numbers came from a specific case and should never be viewed as guaranteed results.

But the strategy raises an important question for Arizona families:

If we’re going to spend money on housing anyway, should we at least compare renting versus owning?

Where This Could Make Sense in Arizona

Imagine a family whose son or daughter is attending ASU in Tempe.

Instead of writing a rent check every month, they purchase a two or three-bedroom condo or townhouse near campus.

Their child occupies one bedroom and one or two roommates contribute toward housing costs.

Four years later, the family has choices.

They might sell the property.

They might continue renting it.

They might keep it for another child attending ASU.

Or the student might eventually purchase it from the parents.

That optionality can have value.

But There Are Risks

Real estate isn’t guaranteed to appreciate.

Parents also need to account for:

• HOA fees
• Property taxes
• Insurance
• Maintenance and repairs
• Vacancy risk
• Property management
• Transaction costs when buying and selling
• Financing costs
• Possible tax implications

A Tempe condo could be a great strategy for one family and a terrible strategy for another.

That’s why this isn’t really a conversation about buying an investment property.

It’s a conversation about using the family’s entire balance sheet to solve a financial goal.

As a Certified Liability Advisor, that’s one of the biggest shifts in how I look at mortgages today.

The question isn’t simply:

“What’s the lowest mortgage rate?”

The better question may be:

“How can we structure your liabilities and real estate decisions to help you accomplish the things that actually matter to your family?”

College funding is one place where that conversation can get very interesting.

Before automatically writing four years of rent checks or pulling money from retirement accounts, it may be worth running the numbers.

Sometimes the smarter college funding strategy might have an address.

Your Mortgage Strategist,

Kevin

This material is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment, tax, legal or financial advice. Real estate values, rental income and investment returns are not guaranteed. Financing eligibility and tax treatment vary by individual circumstances. Consult appropriate financial, tax and legal professionals before implementing any strategy.