Friedman, who lives on Hillsborough Street, chose to live in the house so he could live with friends.
"My friends chose to live in a house," he said. "So I followed suit."
Like Friedman, some UNC students forgo apartment living and settle into a house off campus for reasons varying from amount of space to type of surroundings.
These students are part of the 63 percent of students who live off campus and 27.2 percent to live in official UNC residence halls, with the remaining 9.8 percent including other housing options such as Greek and married student housing. "Houses are more spacious and more comfortable," Friedman said. "You don't have other people being annoying and living above you."
Also enjoying the extra space is Kristina Watson, a junior English major who lives in a two-story house on Greensboro Street in Carrboro. "Houses offer more space," Watson said. "I felt it was a better deal, a better option."
Watson said she opted to live in a house because she preferred the environment. "I feel houses have character," Watson said. "The neighborhood is geared toward families."
Local real estate companies say that although they deal with students who have interests in houses, students do not make up a large percentage of their business.
Susan Goldstein, owner and broker at The Home Team, estimates that two to three dozen student buy houses from The Home Team in a year.
"About 5 or 10 percent of our business comes from students," Goldstein said.