When you’re looking for a home to buy, you must weigh a number of factors. You’ll want a home of a certain size that offers a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms. You’ll want a home that offers proximity to work and other places you often visit. And, whether or not you have kids, you’ll want to consider the schools that any given home feed into.
Why are a home’s public schools so important? Here’s a look at the four reasons why public schools are such an essential factor in home transactions.
1. Schools are important for your kids.
Let’s start with the obvious one: Schools are important if you have school-age children. Public schools are already paid for via your taxes, but the quality of schools varies as you consider different neighborhoods. If and when you find an affordable home served by outstanding schools, you’re getting additional value for your investment in real estate.
Some homeowners are willing to send their kids to private school so they can buy in areas with lower-quality schools. But the cost of private school is like paying more for the home. After all, you still pay the same taxes to support the public schools you’re not using.
2. Schools are important for your future kids.
Schools aren’t just important if you have kids. You must also consider kids you may have in the future. Young couples often buy in areas with low-performing schools. They assume they can move into an area with better schools if and when they have children.
Fast-forward five to seven years later to when a young couple does have kids getting close to kindergarten age. What if the market has taken a downturn and they’re suddenly upside-down on the mortgage? Or, what if the market has taken an upturn and they can’t really afford to move into an area with better schools?
It’s important to buy a home with the short- and mid-term futures in mind. So, if there’s even a possibility of having kids in the future, think about them when you search for a home.
3. Schools are important for resale value.
Schools aren’t just important if you have kids or if you may have kids in the future. In fact, schools should be important to all buyers for one simple reason: resale value. When you buy a home in an area served by outstanding public schools, you can count on resale value remaining high for the foreseeable future.
There are exceptions to this rule, particularly in urban areas where home values are driven by closeness to the city center. But, in most cases, school matter greatly.
4. Schools are important indicators of neighborhood fundamentals.
When you’re new to town, it can sometimes be hard to evaluate different neighborhoods and the quality of life in each. You can drive around different parts of town. You can try restaurants and movie theaters and other entertainment hotspots in the area. You can even attend social events and try to get to know some of the neighbors.
But the quality of local schools will always be one of the best indicators of market fundamentals. That is, areas with quality schools are also likely to be areas with low crime, high community involvement and connectivity, attractive entertainment and dining options, strong resale values and more. If you want to know whether a neighborhood is worthy of your investment, check out its public schools.
How to Research Local Schools
What’s the best way to research local schools? There are three ways to investigate.
First, you can typically get information about student performance and other key indicators from the school district or the school itself. In many cases, this information is readily available online.
Second, you can visit third-party school review and rating sites. Resources like GreatSchools.org offer information on test scores, college readiness, student demographics, discipline and attendance, teachers and more.
And, third, you can find a good real estate agent who knows the area and who can provide expert guidance as you consider your options. Real estate agents with experience in a given city can gain an understanding of what you want from local schools and then help you find schools that meet those needs.
Have questions about schools in our local area? I’m always here to answer them and to provide information and recommendations. Get in touch with questions about schools or anything else real estate-related by emailing me at pthessen1@gmail.com.
-submitted by Perry Thessen
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