HOUSE prices in university towns and cities have increased by nearly £34,000 on average over the course of a three-year degree, a report has found.
This means a recent graduate faces paying £33,949 or 18 per cent more typically to live in the place where they went to university than they would have done in 2015 when they started their degree, Halifax found.
Across the 66 places Halifax looked at, the average house price has grown from £187,636 to £221,585 over the past three years.
Someone on a four-year degree course will have seen average house prices in university towns increase by £44,823 or 25 per cent over the period since 2014.
And over the past five years, the growth in house price values has been even more significant, averaging £48,941, Halifax found.
Halifax found house price growth has been so strong in some university towns that home buyers can face a premium as high as 60 per cent to live there compared with the surrounding local area.
Winchester topped the premium table with the average property worth £179,931 or 60 per cent above the average for Hampshire.
Cambridge commands the second highest premium, with buyers paying £147,590 or 49 per cent more compared with the average property in Cambridgeshire, followed by Bath, where buyers face a premium of £101,974 or 34 per cent.
Belfast was eighth in the 10 least expensive university towns in Halifax's study, with the average house price £153,813
Some 40 out of the 66 university towns in the study were found have higher prices when compared with the surrounding area.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: "Given the demand for housing in student towns, and the potential of promising returns for private landlords, it is unsurprising that house prices in the majority of these areas compared to the county come with a premium.
"For both student buyers and renters, more affordable opportunities may be found outside of the town and this research highlights the benefits of searching wider than the university doorstep."
Home buyers looking to buy in a university town which is more affordable compared with the surrounding area may want to consider Portsmouth, where the average house price is £76,894 lower than the county average.
Hatfield, Colchester, Plymouth, Bradford and Stoke-on-Trent also have average house prices which sit lower than the county average.
Halifax said the least expensive university town in its study is Paisley in Scotland, with an average price of £127,395. Hull, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Pontypridd and Belfast were also found to be among the least expensive university towns and cities.
:: Here are the university towns which command the biggest cash premiums for home buyers compared with the surrounding area according to Halifax, with the average house price in the university town and the premium in percentage and cash terms:
1. Winchester, £478,886, 60 per cent, £179,931
2. Cambridge, £448,948 , 49 per cent, £147,590
3. Bath, £399,095, 34 per cent, £101,974
4. Ormskirk, £262,578, 58 per cent, £96,456
5. Warwick, £347,069, 29 per cent, £78,885
6. Guildford, £540,204, 16 per cent, £75,451
7. Oxford, £447,923, 19 per cent, £71,532
8. Kingston-upon-Thames, £528,206, 14 per cent, £63,453
9. Cheltenham, £323,440, 17 per cent, £46,701
10. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £213,175, 25 per cent, £42,490
