Eight years ago, when I was in my first year at Newcastle University, my father decided — perhaps understandably — that he would rather not shell out on rent for my final two years there. So he came up with what, in retrospect, turned out to be rather a clever plan.

For just under £200,000, he bought a six-bedroom house in Jesmond, in the north of the city, which I shared with five friends. They paid my father rent, which covered the entire mortgage (including my share, although I’m not sure they realised it). And when I graduated in 2003, we sold it for a £40,000 or so profit — money that was used to put down the deposit on a two-bedroom flat in south-west London, helping me and my two sisters to get our foot on the property ladder.

It wasn’t always plain sailing, of course. We had to return the first month’s rent to my housemates because the work we were having done wasn’t finished by the time they moved in. Being the de facto landlord also meant I was the one to whom my friends turned when something went wrong. But having a nice place to live and not having to worry about it easily made up for the downsides.

As the academic year draws to a close, most first-year students will be looking forward to getting out of halls and into their first proper home in September. Parents, meanwhile, will be gritting their teeth and preparing to cover the cost of rent, bills and possibly food for at least another two years.

With prices at today’s levels, is it still feasible — as it was in Newcastle at the beginning of the decade — to get your student offspring’s housemates effectively to subsidise his or her own accommodation? And, if so, does it work in all university towns?

Accommodationforstudents.com, the largest online portal for student property, has estimated the average rent for 20 areas across the UK, from just £48 a week in Hull to £104 in London. The variation in property prices is even greater: Knight Frank estate agency says a typical three-bedroom student property in Hull would cost £110,800, but one in the capital would set you back £307,700.

Estate agent surveys show that buying appears to make most sense in Nottingham. Take a typical three-bedroom terrace in the city, which Knight Frank estimates would cost £137,700. Putting down a 25% deposit and taking out a mortgage on the rest from Lloyds at 4.39% — which allows you to buy in your child’s name (avoiding capital- gains tax when you sell) while acting as guarantor — means an interest bill of £377.81 a month, or £4,533.72 a year.

With the typical student in the city paying £63 a week, getting two in for a full year would mean annual income of £6,552 — which, even after setting aside money for maintenance and bills, will allow your child to live virtually rent-free. The margin is lower elsewhere, but even in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where rents are lowest relative to prices, you’ll just about be quids in. Turn that second reception room into another bedroom and you could really be in the black.

Rental yields are only half the story. You should also think about what will happen once the final exams have been passed and (provided your son or daughter has not decided to stay on for an MA or a doctorate) you are faced with the choice between renting to other students and selling up.

“The key is to think long-term,” says Liam Bailey, head of research at Knight Frank. “The reality is that in many locations, like Nottingham, the legacy of small investment flats, not initially aimed at students, has created an additional supply of accommodation competing with other investment properties.”

In other cities, such as Bristol or Warwick, rental yields may be lower, but there might be a stronger resale market or an opportunity to continue renting the property to a wider graduate or young-professional market. (It may not have worked out for Cherie Blair in Bristol, but it could work for you.)

And what about London? High prices mean the argument in favour of buying is not as clear-cut, but continued rental demand can make it a good bet. “There are hundreds of students looking for a certain type of accommodation at a particular time of year, who are not going to be dictated to by the recession,” says Jenny Holland, head of lettings at Wooster & Stock estate agency.

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