Education x-factor can convert into hard cash for homeowners

We all know that good schools in Chiswick push up property prices. Now we know how much.

No prizes for realising that local high performing primary schools add value to property in Chiswick, but now Nationwide has just calculated what this means in hard cash.

Schools with ten percent higher Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) pass rates, bestow an average price premium on nearby properties of 3.3 percent, rising to a high of four percent.

The figures derive from the building society’s house price index along with the latest primary school performance tables, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The assessment calculates the variation in property prices in relation to the proportion of eleven year olds achieving Level 4 or above, in Key Stage 2 SATs at the nearest school.

The latest Land Registry data shows the average price of a property in W4 to be £601,488 (an increase of 6.5% compared to last year). So the school x-factor could account for approximately £18,000 - £24,000 of this selling price.

Premium price, premium return

The premium added to a house or flat in W4 is demonstrated by local state primary schools such as St Mary’s RC, Belmont, Grove Park and Strand-on-the-Green. Christian Harper of Chiswick estate agent Oliver Finn: “The added premium to live near good Chiswick schools used to be around ten percent but clearly this number has fallen. If you have to pay a premium when you move in, your property will attract a premium resale price when you move on.

“Some schools are more popular with buyers than others and currently Belmont Primary School attracts the highest demand. Southfield Primary is now on the radar as well, since word has spread of year-on-year improvements.”

It is possible to be so near a school that it is perceived as a negative to buyers, says Harper: “Having a school on your doorstep can prompt the objection from househunters that it will be too noisy. Having a school within walking distance is ideal, though I have heard of some examples, of a distance of 250 yards being out of the catchment area. The distance depends on the current popularity of the school.”

Even families living within the catchment area are not guaranteed entry. Some Chiswick schools have taken only a handful of new families as the vast majority of places have first been offered to siblings in catchment. Every situation is different, so check with the Ealing or Hounslow borough authorities or contact the schools direct, to get the latest entry criteria.

“Schools have always been a factor in buying property but I think the rising cost of private education has made it unreachable for most people. Good quality state education is much more of a factor in the moving process than ever,” says Harper.

September 1, 2010