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C O N T E N T S
School Quality & the Homebuying Decision
Impacts of Schools on Property Values
"Selling" the Schools
Web sites Offering Information on School Quality
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Of all the local neighborhood amenities that can influence a buyer's decision to purchase a home, proximity to good quality schools is one of the most influential. According to The 2004 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, schools were listed as a deciding factor for 19% of home buyers. This Field Guide includes articles and studies on the importance of schools for home buyers and how schools impact local property values, along with a sampling of Web sites that provide data on school districts.
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WHAT'S THE PASSWORD?
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 - Articles marked with a red Q are provided by ProQuest for NAR members only. Please enter NAR's Proquest password if required.
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 - Articles marked with the REALTOR® "R" are available on Realtor.org. Your Realtor.org ID and password may be required. |
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School Quality & the Homebuying Decision
High performance schools: Green/sustainable school buildings create healthier students, happier parents, and more attractive Smart Growth neighborhoods, (On Common Ground, Winter 2005).
Housing and school choice, (Affordable Housing Bulletin (King County, WA), Dec. 2002).
The perceived quality of public schools, (East Carolina University - Department of Economics, July 2000).
Which measures of school quality does the housing market value?, (Journal of Real Estate Research, Vol. 18, No. 3, 1999).
Do better schools matter? Parental valuation of elementary education, (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 1999).
School choice through relocation: Evidence from the Washington, D.C. area, (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - Working Paper Series WP-99-7, Mar. 1999).
Neighborhood school characteristics: What signals quality to homebuyers?, ( Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Economic Review, 4th Quarter 1996). 
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Factors Influencing Neighborhood Choice
Neighborhood quality: 62%
Close to Job/Schools: 35%
Close to Friends/Family: 31%
School District: 19%
Shopping Centers: 15%
Source: The 2004 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
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Impacts of Schools on Property Values
Why do households without children support local public schools? Linking house price capitalization to school spending, (Columbia Business School, May 2005).
Do good schools or good neighbors raise property values?, (UCLA / Dartmouth College, Apr. 2004).
School quality and property values in Greenville, South Carolina, (Clemson University, Apr. 2003).
School accountability ratings and housing values, (National Bureau of Economic Research, Jan. 2003).
Schools and housing markets: An examination of school segregation and performance in Connecticut, (University of Connecticut, Oct. 2002).
What's in a grade? School report cards and house prices, (University of Florida - Department of Economics, May 2002).
School performance and housing values: Using non-contiguous district and incorporation boundaries to identify school effects, (National Tax Journal, June 2001).
The capitalization of school quality: Evidence from San Diego County, (San Diego State University - Department of Economics, Spring 2001).
School finance reform and housing values: Evidence from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, (San Diego State University - Department of Economics, Jan. 2000).
Perception of public school quality and it's effects on housing prices: Evidence from Pitt County, North Carolina, (East Carolina University - Department of Economics, Dec. 1999).
House prices and the quality of public schools: What are we buying?, (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Business Review, Sept./Oct. 1998).
The impact of school characteristics on house prices: Chicago 1987-1991, (Tufts University - Department of Economics, Aug. 1997).
How much more is a good school district worth?, (National Tax Journal, June 1997).
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"Selling" the Schools
New Schools for Older Neighborhoods: Strategies for Building Our Communities' Most Important Assets, (National Association of REALTOR®/The Local Government Commission, Jan. 2002).
Web site did not infringe on magazine's copyright for compiling school information, (Letter of the Law, Feb. 2002).
Knowing the community before selecting a new home, (University of Illinois Extension Fact Sheet, 2001).
Reading, writing, and real estate: Forget the golf course. It's the school that's the draw, (Planning, May 2000).
Sell schools, not test scores, (REALTOR® Magazine, Jan. 2000).
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Web sites Offering More Information on School Quality
There are numerous sources on the Web offering data on schools and school districts. The reports they provide vary in detail and cost, but almost always have useful information for home buyers and REALTORS®. The following are a few sample Web sites:
REALTOR.com
Under the Find A Community link, school district rankings, student-to-teacher ratios, average education spending per student, and other information can be found when searching for a particular community. Here, for example, is the report for the 90210 zip code (scroll down to find School Detail).
National Center for Education Statistics
The center publishes information on all levels of education, from preschool to graduate school.
Private Companies
A listing of private companies around the U.S. that provide reports on school districts is available on Yahoo!.
State and local sources
Many states and local areas also make their school district info available online. Web sites of the state departments of education are a good start, along with those of local newspapers. For example:
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The material on this page is presented by
NAR's Information Central.
Updated Apr. 2005
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