Buyers Pay More for Good Schools

More than 44 percent of homebuyers who plan to buy a home within the next two years said they would be willing to go over their budget by up to 10 percent in order to buy in their preferred school boundaries, according to a new survey by realtor.com.

Three out of five homebuyers surveyed said that school boundaries greatly impact their home purchasing decision. Nearly 9 percent of buyers indicated that they’d be willing to pay 11 to 20 percent above their budget to get a home in a desirable school district, the survey found. About 17 percent of buyers said they want to live within a mile of a school so their children can walk there.

Some homebuyers said they’d even be willing to trade certain home amenities for good schools: About 62 percent said they’d give up a pool or spa, 50 percent would give up accessibility to shopping and nearly 44 percent would pass on a bonus room.

“Our survey demonstrates the large impact school boundaries have on those looking to purchase a home,” says Barbara O’Connor, chief marketing officer at Move Inc.

The survey comes after realtor.com launched a new mobile school search tool in April, allowing buyers to search for listings in specific school and district boundaries.

Source: realtor.com®