House prices 'up to 5% higher' in good school catchment areas

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities

Parents are prepared to pay a premium of thousands of pounds in order to live in a property which is near a good primary school, research showed today.

House prices are between 2.6% and 4.6% higher if they are close to a good school, meaning parents are paying up to £8,000 more to secure a home in the right catchment area in some regions of the country, according to Nationwide.

The group looked at the impact on house prices of the local primary school having 10% more 11-year-olds who achieved a level four or above in their key stage 2 Standard Assessment Tests than surrounding schools.

It found that an increase of this level boosted house prices in the vicinity by an average of 3.3%, or £5,860, across England.

House prices in all regions of England were higher if they were in the catchment area for a good school, with properties in Yorkshire and Humberside seeing the biggest increase in percentage terms of 4.6%, while those in the South West saw the smallest rise at 2.6%.

Unsurprisingly, homes in London saw the highest gain in monetary terms at around £8,031.

The group said in the vast majority of primary schools in England, at least 70% of pupils achieved at least a level four in their SATs, while 30% of schools had an average attainment rate of between 90% and 100%.

Around 2.4% of primary schools had a 100% attainment rate, and a house located near one of these commanded an average premium of 11% or £19,500 over an identical property that was near one of the bottom quarter of schools.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Following recent revelations around the lengths that some parents are prepared to go to get their child a place at a good school, we have revisited our research examining how property prices are influenced by the performance of local schools."

The group said the premium people were prepared to pay to live near a good school had increased from around 2.5% when it last carried out the research in 2004.

But the impact of being close to a good school on house prices is fairly muted compared with other factors that boost a property's price.

The group said carrying out a loft conversion could raise the value of a home by around 20%, while creating an additional bedroom added 11% and a 10% increase in the floor area boosted prices by 5%.

Mr Gahbauer said: "On balance, the extent to which primary school performance affects property prices will depend upon the range of schools in the area and whilst it is something that parents are likely to consider when buying a home, it is just one of a number of factors that impact house prices."