The subject of local property prices in the vicinity of good primary and secondary schools has been discussed at great length for many years now. We have seen much private research activity into this subject but nothing official from the UK government, until now. The Department for Education (DfE) has today released a report suggesting there is a direct link between property prices and good quality schooling. So, what level of influence do good quality schools have on local properties?
A good primary school can add up to £18,600, secondary school £15,800
This is certainly attention grabbing information for property investors, the revelation that a good primary school can add up to £18,600 to the value of a property. If you look right across the UK, on average property prices were 8% higher next to a good performing primary school while just 6.8% higher next to the best secondary schools. This would seem to indicate an initial focus on the early years of education as opposed to secondary education.
When you think about it, giving young child a firm grounding in education in their early years is vital. This will give them the confidence and the skills to progress into secondary education and then on to a successful career, we hope!
What about an increase of £38,800?
It is sometimes disingenuous to talk about the London property market and the UK general market because they are so different. This report from the DfE also confirmed that London property next to one of the top 10% performing primary schools would increase by a staggering £38,800 – but then again because of the cost of London property this still equates to 8%. The selection process for schools has been heavily criticised over the last few years and indeed the UK government has continuously denied claims of a link between high property prices and good performing schools.
Is this the whole picture?
It would be misleading to suggest that the price of property around good performing schools is only influenced by the standard of education. There are many more factors to take into consideration and also how the authorities arrive at the location for new schools – are they at all influenced by the cost of property in the area?
Other factors to take into consideration include the local employment market and accessibility to name but two. However, it has to be said that while prices do differ in different areas of the UK all areas show that properties located next to the best performing 10% of primary and secondary schools are all valued above the average for the area.
Conclusion
It is interesting that the UK government has released this information in light of the ongoing heated debate about grammar schools. It would be wrong to suggest that house prices are only influenced by their location in relation to good education facilities but this is definitely a strong influence. There was no mention of how the location for new schools was arrived at which was a little disappointing. However, critics of the political elite have certainly got ammunition from this report!