3 Ways a School Division Can Influence Your Resale Value

Welcome to Awesome August!

When you purchased your home, you had a list of things you wanted. Maybe it was the backyard, perhaps the kitchen. For almost 90% of potential homebuyers, school divisions play a large role in their decision.

For those that have children, it goes without saying that you want a good school for them. But for those that don’t, the decision to buy in a good school division is often tied to the resale value. Often the quality of the school changes over the course of 10 to 15 years, and if you don’t have daily interaction with the school, you may not even realize the impact it could have on selling your home.

Here are three ways a school division can influence your resale value:

1: Increased Spending Habits

A good school division may be an indication of other positive things in the area, including the efficiency of local government and spending. The National Bureau of Economic Research discovered that “for every dollar spent on public schools, home values increased by $20.” Increased home values are beneficial for everyone in the area.

2: Positive School Ratings

A 2013 realtor.com survey of nearly 1,000 prospective home buyers showed that 91% said school boundaries were an important factor in their home search. Statistics also show that the more affluence there is in a community, the higher the test scores will be in that same community, thus making the location more desirable.

3: Bigger Homes

Interestingly, higher-scoring schools tend to be in areas with bigger houses. Homes in higher-scoring school zones tend to have about 1.5 more rooms than homes in nearby lower-scoring schools. While more rooms can certainly increase home values, 1 in 5 home buyers are willing to sacrifice space, bedrooms, and garages to buy a house in a good school division.

But before you get too caught up on test scores, school rankings, and bedrooms there are a few additional things to take into consideration when buying or selling a home:

• Overall, buyers are willing to pay more for a home in a good school division
• 1 in 5 said they would pay between 6 to 10% more for a home in a good division
• 1 in 10 said they’d pay up to 20% more for a home in their desired school division

Don’t get overwhelmed with all the numbers and statistics. Together, we can do some research to determine the appeal of your school division and how it may affect the sale of your home.

If you would like to learn how your school division affects your specific home value, and benefit you financially, contact us to schedule a time to talk.