Price premium for homes close to top schools

Wednesday 28th March 2012

Property closest to some of the best primary schools in England have reached such a high price premium that buyers can expect to pay up to 42% more than they would for comparable homes nearby.

Some areas show even more extreme valuations. Houses in the catchment area of one Lancashire school sell for £572,500 on average. That is two-and-a-half times the cost of homes in the rest of the region.

The figures, from property website PrimeLocation.com, show just how much parents are prepared to pay to get their children into the best state schools.

Researchers looked at property asking prices in the catchment areas of the top 100 primary schools in England.

They found that homes in these areas had an average asking price of £309,732. This was almost £92,000 more than the UK average of £218,114.

PrimeLocation property analyst Nigel Lewis said: “It’s no surprise that parents are investing considerable amounts of money choosing a home that gives their child access to the best school possible.

"This demand has led to higher than average asking prices for homes in the most sought- after neighbourhoods, pricing many parents out of the area altogether."

He added: "The primary school a child goes to can have a significant impact on their subsequent education and with competition for places in the UK’s top secondary schools becoming more intense parents are going to greater lengths to ensure that their child is not left behind."

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Mike Jones