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For the kids: How do schools impact on property prices?

Here, TheJournal.ie give you an education on what school proximity does for the housing market.

EACH WEEK WE give you the inside scoop about what’s been happening in the property market.

We’ve been working with the reams of data from property website Daft.ie to come up with some useful facts and figures you should bear in mind if thinking of throwing your lot in with other home hunters.

This week we break down some of the information that’s been in the Daft.ie report on property and schools – and look at how education influences people when choosing their homes.

Proximity Premium in Dublin

Locality to a school can be a serious business in the capital. For those with children in secondary education – an add-on of over €1,000 could be expected for proximity to a school.

This was highest in South-County Dublin where it stood at €2,725. 

Post_Primary_Schools

While premiums on houses aren’t too steep for those looking to get close to secondary schools – things get radically more expensive for parents of primary school children. An additional minimum of €10,000 can be expected to be added for proximity to schools for the under-12s.

In the research, houses within 200m of a school were judged to be in close proximity – and their prices were taken in comparison to houses more than 500m away.

Primary_Schools

Does size matter?

The study also looked at how important the size of schools and class sizes were to potential buyers.

It was found that the size of a primary school made little difference to the amount that parents might expect to pay out. The premium on a house within 200m of a school with 3 classes or fewer was roughly the same as a school with over 8 classes – both carrying premiums of just over 2.5%. 

School_Size

While the size of a school didn’t seem to be a big issue – parents did show some concern for class sizes. House prices nearer to schools with smaller class sizes were found to be higher.

A house close to a school with less than 19 pupils per-class, could expect to be priced 0.3% more expensive than a house near a school with more than 25 pupils per-class.

Number_of_Pupils

To pay or not to pay?

You would think that fee-paying schools might push up property prices a bit more than their non-fee paying counterparts.

However, this was found not to be the case. The premium for being located close to a fee-paying school (2.0%) was only marginally higher than a non-fee paying one (1.9%).

Fee_Non_Fee_Schools

Higher education?

If you’re thinking about your child’s long-term future, it could be worth baring in mind that it won’t cost you anymore to live near a school with a high percentage of students passing into higher education.

The study divided schools into four groups – according to the number of pupils from that school that went on to third-level education.

Surprisingly – schools that had 86% or more of their pupils going onto further education had a slightly smaller premium than schools with less than 56% of their students progressing.

School_Higher_Ed

The full Daft.ie report on education and property can be found here.

Note: Journal Media Ltd has some investors in common with Daft.ie

Read: The Viewing: Your vital round-up of property news from the week

Also: Would rent control actually solve any of our problems?