Schools and Property Values

Lately I have been asked by several community members to find information regarding the relationship between schools and property values. Below are links to three articles that indicate how student outcomes do in fact have an influence on home prices:

• Neighborhood School Characteristics: What Signals Quality to Homebuyers (1996)
• Do Better Schools Matter? Parental Valuation of Elementary Education (1999)
• Educational Outcomes and House Values (2006)

Here are a few key points:

• The 1996 study suggests that property values reflect student test scores but not school expenditures.  In other words, consumers in this study valued the outcomes and not necessarily the inputs.
• From the 1999 study:  "I find that parents are willing to pay 2.5 percent more for a 5 percent increase in test scores."
• The 2006 study abstract ends with this conclusion: "an increase in test scores by one standard deviation, ceteris paribus, raises house prices by 7.1 percent." 

I hope that these resources are helpful.  Thanks.

Devin Vodicka, EdD
Assistant Superintendent, Business Services