In today's market, houses in good school districts are very attractive to home buyers, even if they have to give up a feature they may have wanted in the past. A recent Realtor.com survey revealed 73% of people who closed on a house this year said buying a house in a decent district was “important” in their search. Of those, 39% said school districts were “very important.” Whether it’s a garage or an outdated kitchen, buyers, both young and old, are looking to give up certain home details in order to provide a good education to their children. Realtor.com’s Louise Witt has more details on the study.
Danielle Hale, chief economist of Realtor.com, says younger home buyers are more concerned with strong school districts than with nonessential amenities. With home prices at record highs, they plan to stay in their homes for longer periods, so they have time to renovate their kitchens or build additions, she said.
“Location can’t be changed, but a property can remodeled, updated, or adjusted," Hale says.
More home buyers are using online tools, social media sites, and their friends’ recommendations to find homes in good school districts. Not surprisingly, home buyers with children focused more on school districts. The survey found 91% of buyers with children said good school districts were “important” or “very important.”
Younger home buyers were more likely to say school districts were important in their search. Eighty-six percent of 18- to 34-year-old respondents and 84% of those aged 35 to 54 said schools were “important.” For those 55 and older, that dropped to 37%, with more than half saying schools were “unimportant” or “very unimportant.”
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