How Schools Impact Raleigh Home Owners
A good school district has benefits that can directly impact the children of the local Raleigh community. However, it is also beneficial to the home owners that do not have children as Raleigh home values and resale rates are better protected within better school districts.
Of course, the benefits must be weighed against the cost when using a school district as a factor to home-buying in Raleigh. Finding the balance between a great deal on a Raleigh home and quality school district may be the deciding factor. A quality public school district may have pricier homes compared to a predominantly private-school district; however, the bargain may lie within the pricier option.
Strong Public School’s Impact
A recent Trulia report found the majority of home owners living with children, at 63%, said that the quality of the public school district is among the most important factors when deciding to buy a home.
The determinants of a school district’s quality range from the age of the school, student-to-teacher ratio, the student’s performance on standardized testing, etc., to name a few.
The Private School Option
The public school district is not the sole determinant of the district’s educational quality. An under-performing public school district makes the private school option more attractive. According to GreatSchools ratings, private school enrollment is nearly four times higher when comparing the lowest rated districts to the highest rated districts. This indicates that parents are willing to pay for education when the public district does not provide a high quality education.
In situations like this, parents must add the cost of a private education per child to the equation when considering home-buying within an under-performing public school district yet still wanting to provide a quality education.
A prep school may cost up to $40,000 while parochial schools’ costs are around $7,000. With an average of approximately $11,000, that is roughly an additional $900 per child according to the Trulia report.
These calculations make the mortgage for a $300,000 equivalent to a $500,000+ when factoring in private school tuition. However, note that these estimations vary since the costs of homes and schooling are variable.
Looking ahead
Home buyers without children along with empty nesters should know that Raleigh homes within a quality school district tend to resell faster and at higher values than Raleigh homes within an under-performing school district. The quality of the school district may also protect the home’s resale value if it is within the right district as buying within a good school district usually benefits the home owner in terms of protecting the investment and the tax break provided by sending the kids to a public school.So as you look for your next Raleigh home, be sure you take into consideration what the local school system looks like as it can impact your current price as well as your future resale value.