House prices in popular school zone catchments soared by up to 46 per cent in the past year, often outperforming the suburbs they are in, as tight supply fuels fierce competition among families looking to gain a footing within the desirable locations, the Domain Schools Zone report shows.
Melbourne and Sydney dominated the list of best performing school catchment zones compared to a year ago, reflecting the capitals’s stronger property markets.
The price surges underline how much of a premium that parents were prepared to pay to enable their children to be eligible for enrolment in high-performing or popular government schools.
In Sydney, houses in the Barrenjoey High School zone, jumped 45 per cent in the past 12 months – more than 15 percentage points above the 30.1 per cent growth posted by Avalon Beach – the suburb the school is located in.
In Melbourne, homes within the Kunyung Primary School catchment posted the sharpest increase in house prices, climbing by 45.7 per cent and outperforming the suburb, Mount Eliza, by 13.2 percentage points.
Hobart had the biggest percentage of primary school catchment zones that outperformed the suburb they were in at 58 per cent, while Brisbane had the largest share of secondary school catchment zones which outperformed the suburb they were in at 56 per cent.
Home prices rose between 38 and 46 per cent across the top-performing catchments, proving that access to quality public schools was among the most important considerations for families looking for a new home, said Nicola Powell, Domain’s chief of research and economics.
“We know that as part of the property decision-making process, parents and investors consider the geographical location of a potential property in relation to a school catchment zone,” she said.
“When people are looking for a home, they’re looking for a lifestyle, and education is a big part of that picture, be it in the inner-city suburbs or the coastal regions of Australia.”
Across the combined capitals, houses in more than two in five catchment zones (46 per cent) have outperformed the suburb growth, with roughly one in 10 school catchment zones fetching 10 to 20 per cent more than the suburb they were located in.
“It’s astonishing to see that, starting on a high base of house prices, some school catchment zones are achieving 10 to 20 per cent more than the suburb they are located in,” Dr Powell said.
“It shows that Australians are prepared to pay for easy access to public schools.”
House prices surged the most in school catchment zones close to natural environments, such as the coastal suburbs or near to national parks, making them ideal for families, Dr Powell said.
This was evident in the strong price growth for homes within the Burraneer Bay Public School catchment zone, which grew ten times faster than Cronulla – the suburb it is located in.
Similarly, the desirable coastal lifestyle likely helped boost prices in the Scarborough Primary School catchment in Perth by 33.9 per cent, compared to the suburb -Scarborough – which posted just a 4.2 per cent rise in values.
“Due to a shift in lifestyle such as flexible working and ongoing COVID-19 impacts, people are spending more time at home and desire properties that have easy access to beaches and parks,” Dr Powell said.
A school catchment area is defined as the geographical location where a state school’s core intake of students must live.
This article is from Australian Financial Review, please click the following link for the original article: https://www.afr.com/property/residential/house-prices-in-coveted-school-zones-soar-as-much-as-46pc-20210922-p58tq1
