School Districts Lift Home Prices
Homes within highly rated school districts tend to have a higher median sales price, sell for a greater percentage over the list price, and sell faster, according to a new study by the real estate brokerage Redfin.
Highly rated public schools were found to have homes with a median sales price of $474,900 compared to $290,000 in an average-rated school zone. Redfin researchers also found that homes in top school districts are more likely to sell for 30 percent above the list price versus 23 percent. They tend to sell faster too: A median of 25 days on the market versus 21 days.
Homes in top-level school districts can be more difficult to come by, the study shows. For every 100 homes in a neighborhood, on average, only 5.8 were on the market in the past year compared with 6.5 for the greater metro area.
Redfin analyzed test score data from GreatSchools ratings, provided by Onboard Infomatics, in 22 major metro areas to determine the neighborhoods that have the most highly rated public schools. Redfin also included data on median sales price, and the percentage of homes that sold above the asking price.
The following metros have some of the top rating averages from GreatSchools, and listed below them are the top three neighborhoods containing the most highly rated schools within each metro. (For the full list of 22 metros and the top schools identified, visit Redfin’s research blog.)
- Orange County, Calif. metro area
Turtle Rock, El Camino Real, Northwood
- Austin, Texas metro area
Steiner Ranch, Circle C Ranch, East Oak Hill
- Long Island, N.Y. metro area
South Wantagh, North Syosset, North Baldwin
- Seattle, Wash. metro area
Queen Anne, Ballard, Factoria
- Phoenix, Ariz. metro area
Desert Ridge, Hillcrest Ranch, Ahwtukee
- San Jose, Calif. metro area
Monta Vista, Blossom Hill, North Los Altos
- Houston, Texas metro area
Shadow Creek Ranch, Kingwood, Sugar Creek
Source: Redfin