How Important Are Local Schools?

As realtors, we expect families moving to a new community to ask about the quality of the school district.

But, with the on going virus crisis and remote learning a definite option in many places, how important is the quality of the local school district in deciding where a family will live?

According to a new article in HousingWire — an online real estate industry publication – more buyers with kids are seeking homes with bigger spaces, without counting the value of the school district their children may attend.

In the middle of spring, COVID-19 caused schools across the country to shut down and go virtual. In a shift that feels similar to the way many people are reconsidering how close they need to be to their physical workplace, many parents are questioning how close kids need to live to their school, if classes are going to be some version of online for the foreseeable future.

Hudson Santana, founder of Santana Properties in Cambridge, is quoted in the article as saying that his clients have been gravitating to suburbs with yards and more space, not generally thinking about the quality of schools or district zoning.

“We’ve seen lots of people move to suburbs and giving up Cambridge in order to go to a place where they have a big yard, where they have a home office and be able to compromise more with the school,” Santana said.

In Massachusetts the public schools are generally really good, he said. “But we’re definitely seeing a huge trend of buyers moving and really focusing on space, [whereas] before they were really focused on school district.”

This is line with our recent experiences with buyers, who have school age children. More often than not, we talk about the nearby location of schools as a positive point of the properties we are showing.

Just yesterday Hank did a virtual showing of one of our listings for a family in Indiana. They asked many questions, but none were about schools.

Still not convinced that buyer interest is strong?

Some Highlights

• The study shows the current health crisis isn’t slowing down today’s homebuyers.
• Many buyers are accelerating their timelines to take advantage of low mortgage rates, and staying home has enabled some to save more money to put toward a down payment.

Maybe now is the time for you to take advantage of high buyer interest. Please visit our website to receive a free valuation of your home.

Then let’s connect at 508-568-8191 or [email protected] and we can review your options. With the equity many of us have in our homes, this could be the perfect time to move to your “someday” neighborhood. Thanks…

Stay healthy. Stay optimistic.

Mari and Hank