Posted in Buying a New House

Depending on the state you live in, school taxes, which all homeowners have to pay, may be  directly related to the value of the home. Homes located within more desirable districts tend to have a higher value than comparable homes in other districts.  Before you put in an offer, let’s take a look at the relationship between school districts and home values and what you need to consider.

School District and Home Values

Better performing school districts are often surrounded by higher valued homes.  There is no way to definitively determine whether the houses are more expensive because of the performance of the school district, or that more affluent families can afford these houses and seek to live in better school districts.  The schools’ performance may be due to families with higher education who encourage high performance from their children. The more money and education a community’s residents have, the higher performing the school district.

Researching Districts

If a great school district is what you’re looking for when considering your next home, make sure to do the research.  Education records for public schools is public record. You can find out the teacher salaries, demographics of the schools, student test scores, rankings, and how many students are receiving free lunch. Schools with a higher teacher to student ratio and with higher percentages of students on free lunch programs tend to perform worse than districts with lower numbers.  

When a district is doing well, home values tend to increase.  More people want to live in these neighborhoods and the demand drives the price of the properties up.  With increased values, taxes increase, and many families can no longer afford to consider purchasing one of these homes.  When you’re searching for a home to buy, make sure you take a look at the school district. Even if you don’t have children, the performance of the schools in the Maryland location, Virginia location, and Washington DC location will affect you as a homeowner.