Homebuyers pay premium of £135k to live near top school
THE appeal of leading state schools is sending nearby property prices soaring, sparking ‘ridiculous’ bidding wars among pushy parents desperate to get into the catchment area.
An estate agent in one Glasgow suburb said her staff could ‘barely keep up’ with the number of closing dates set for the most attractive addresses.
In one instance this month, a bungalow on the market for £565,000 in the catchment area for high-performing secondary school St Ninian’s in Giffnock, near Glasgow, sold for more than £135,000 above the asking price.
A raft of industry studies into the phenomenon is being published this week, all concluding that ambitious parents
‘The market has just become ridiculous’
are prepared to pay well over the odds for a house that qualifies their child for a good school. Today, the Bank of Scotland says parents will need to pay an average premium of £41,441 to live in the catchment area of a leading state school.
The figure is markedly higher in the North-east, where you need to pay a premium of £102,497 to live in the catchment area of Cults Academy in Aberdeen.
The bank examined house sales across Scotland, giving particular attention to the housing market near the 20 top-performing secondaries. In these areas, the average cost of a house is £231,476.
The bank’s research suggests the schools factor has now propelled the commuter belt of East Renfrewshire beyond Edinburgh in the race to become the hottest property market in Scotland.
The district takes in suburbs such as Clarkston, Giffnock and Newton Mearns. The average property price here, argues Bank of Scotland, is now £248,730 compared to £243,852 in the capital.
Andy Dunlop, manager of the business improvement districts I Love Clarkston and All About Barrhead, said: ‘People are attracted to East Renfrewshire because of the schools. Whenever you ask someone, that’s the first thing out of their mouths when they say why they are moving there.’
Last month, three sets of twins achieved five As each in their Highers at St Ninian’s, officially the second-best state school for exam results in Scotland. Many parents are choosing to spend extra to buy their house rather than send their children to Glasgow’s private schools, where fees are around £12,000 a year.
Living near a top-performing state school appears to be a shrewd investment, based on house prices in the past five years. Parents who bought a home near one of the top 20 schools in 2012 have seen an average price rise of £45,493, or 24 per cent.
One estate agent serving East Renfrewshire said: ‘I shouldn’t really complain but the market has just become ridiculous.
‘My staff are struggling to cope with the number of closing dates which are being set because properties are just so popular.
‘It’s not unusual to have 20 viewers in just a few days. Schools have now become the big issue.’