House with real class
The area’s top schools give this home huge appeal, says Paul Drury
IT is a mantra that has dominated the property market and boosted prices for generations. But now ‘location, location, location’, is being replaced by three other considerations, namely: ‘education, education, education.’
According to research published this week, the average price of a home in East Renfrewshire now stands at £261,512, the first time a Scottish district has burst through the quarter of a million pounds barrier.
But, more significantly, that figure puts the area’s average £100,000 higher than the typical house elsewhere in Scotland.
So what has turned the douce Glasgow suburbs of Clarkston, Giffnock and Newton Mearns into the Bel Air of Scotland?
It cannot be a coincidence that the local schools frequently top exam league tables, lighting them up as beacons of academic achievement. The area’s council is possibly unique in Scotland in that it spends more than half of its budget on schooling.
Parents who wish the best for their children are increasingly making sacrifices to ensure junior goes to an East Renfrewshire school. And, with rationing of places already under way, the only way you can guarantee the right colour of blazer is by living in a school’s catchment area.
Estate agents will tell you that other factors are at play: low crime rates, the longest life expectancy in the country and the park voted the best in Scotland – Rouken Glen in Giffnock.
Mark Jamieson of the local branch of estate agent Corum said: ‘Education is the big draw here, without question.
‘There is a huge appetite among parents to move here because of the schools, which fuels competition for houses. People seem happy to pay the premium to land a property, taking the long view that it’s also a very good investment.
‘We have seen a strong trend of people moving into the area from Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and even from London.’
Insiders believe there is plenty of scope for house price growth, helped by recent developments in the education system.
The Scottish Government’s decision to end business rates relief for independent schools will push up fees, forcing many parents to abandon the dream of sending their child private.
The next best thing would be one of the top state schools.
Some will doubtless pick East Renfrewshire’s Williamwood High or St Ninian’ s High – both regularly among the top five schools in Scotland. Cue even more house price rises.
Within St Ninian’s catchment zone stands the kind of solid property typical of the area, a three-bedroom semi-detached in Giffnock’s St Ann’s Drive.
Pitched at a fixed price of £410,000, this traditional family home has attracted repeat viewers despite the fact Christmas is now almost upon us.
While it does require a degree of modernisation, the sandstonefronted house provides a tempting opportunity to stamp your personality on a classic Edwardian property.
Don’t expect this fine home to still be on the market in January. Do expect it to sell very, very soon.