Rice and SMU Are Highly Ranked … In an Analysis of Who Pays More For Houses Near Stadiums

For college football fans, you’re not going to see Southern Methodist University or Rice University ranked very high this time of the year.

But SMU and Rice are highly ranked in a recent homeowners study by moveBuddha. The moving service mapped homes near Division-I football stadiums and how much homebuyers are willing to pay.

Rice easily topped the rankings. The university’s Rice Stadium is in the third-richest neighborhood in Houston — West University Place. Houses near Rice Stadium are, on average, $459,733 more expensive than the average Houston home value.

SMU, located in University Park, ranked fourth in the highest increase in home value near the stadium. Homes near Gerald J. Ford Stadium are, on average, $189,500 more expensive than the average Dallas home.

For the analysis, Athens, Georgia-based moveBuddha compiled a list of all Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision teams and their average home attendance, pulled the ZIP codes for each stadium, and used the Zillow Home Value Index to determine the home value of two-bedroom homes in each ZIP code.

Back to Rice: West University Place was top-ranked on 24/7 Wall St.’s list of America’s 50 Best Cities to Live in 2019.

Stanford University led the list with the most expensive teams of the 254 schools on the list. Two-bedroom homes in Palo Alto, California, and around the stadium ZIP average $1.66 million.

As for the big-name college football schools in Texas, Texas A&M University in College Station and the University of Texas at Austin were both less than $50,000 cheaper than the city average.

On the other end of the spectrum, Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., ranked first in the largest decrease in home value near the stadium. Homes near Jack Coffey Field are, on average, $508,870 cheaper than the rest of the neighborhood.

To see the full list, click here.