Gainesville Realtor Michael Hastings becomes College Real Estate Specialist

December 28, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Michael Hastings, a Realtor with Dawn Realty in Gainesville, has been named a College Real Estate Specialist by College Real Estate LLC, a company that recognizes the potential for property investments near U.S. college and university campuses.

As a College Real Estate Specialist, Hastings helps connect students and their parents with residential real estate buying opportunities near the University of Florida campus. Hastings, who has four years of experience in the Gainesville market, has an exclusive arrangement with College Real Estate’s nationwide network.

Stuart Frazier, co-founder and director of client relations at College Real Estate, says: “Michael Hastings is a member of a select group of College Real Estate Specialists who are equipped to deliver a higher degree of expertise and service than the majority of Realtors in college and university markets.”

On average, a student pays about $24,000 for housing while he or she is in college. College Real Estate was started on the premise of not wasting this money on rent, but investing it in property that can be a valuable long-term asset.

That asset is projected to become even more profitable in the near future.

According to Michael H. Zaransky, author of Profit by Investing in Student Housing (Kaplan Publishing, April 2006), student housing currently is one of the most robust niches in real estate investment.

Why? The number of Americans who will reach college age (18) in the next decade is expected to hit 80 million. Meanwhile, many cash-strapped colleges and universities are running short of on-campus housing. This high-demand, low-supply formula produces enormous opportunities for real estate investors, according to Zaransky.

“For parents of current and future college students, it makes perfect sense to buy housing near campuses as a convenience for their sons and daughters and as part of a solid investment strategy,” Frazier says.

For more information about College Real Estate, visit www.collegerealestate.com or call (866) 354-1915.