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Health & Fitness

Westford Public Schools: Great for Everyone

On Monday, the Westford School Committee met to discuss the goals for the Westford Public Schools for the new school year. Westford's schools have earned tremendous recognition which benefits everyone in the community.

It has been a long-held belief that the quality of a school system greatly impacts property values. While there is disagreement over how much property values are affected by the quality of the local schools, most experts agree that the quality of a school system does play a role in determining the value of a property. It is difficult, if not impossible, to measure how large the impact that a great school system has on property values, especially because it is very hard to define what makes a good school system. Nonetheless, some experts believe that homes located in great school districts gain 15% in value over those in moderate and low performing districts.

Most researches who study the role that schools play in properties values explore communities that have rezoned or redistricted their schools. These particular circumstances eliminate most other variables involved in analyzing property value, such as the features of the neighborhood in general and the property in particular. By and large, these studies have shown that homes that were zoned into better school districts saw their values go up, and homes zoned into worse schools had their values go down.

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Another critical factor is buyers themselves. Homebuyers are committing a large amount of cash when investing in a home, and Realtors assert that the quality of a school system is one of the most common questions that real estate professionals get from their clients. Real estate is in many ways the essence of capitalism, driven by supply and demand. Homes located in better school districts are much more in demand, driving prices up. One other strong indicator of this phenomenon is how people vote within a town. Residents tend to support any ballot initiative aimed at improving education, even if it means increased taxes. This is true in communities with older populations that no longer have kids in the public schools, and younger populations without children. The reason for such widespread support is simple; it’s good for property values.

Real estate investors pay close attention to property values looking for homes that are undervalued and can be resold at a higher value. One of the factors that they look it as the quality of the school system. If an undervalued property comes on the market in a good school district, then it has the potential to be resold at a higher amount, which will attract investors. These same investors may steer clear of a similar property in a school district that does not scores as well. There is no profit to be made there. 

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For some people, a good school system is indicative of the community that it serves. The best school systems tend to be in the most affluent cities and towns. Families living there tend to emphasize education as parents have achieved more educationally than parents in poorer cities and towns. To these people, it is not that the teachers are better, that the administration gets more done, or that there is more funding for schools. The home is located in a more attractive community.

Many potential homebuyers will only search within certain school districts, and there is financial evidence to back that stance up. Homes located in better school districts tend to cost more in the first place and hold their value better than homes in poor performing school districts according to an article in the Wall Street Journal from 2010. Even during the real estate disaster in the late 2000’s, home values in the top school districts were impacted less than those in lower-ranked school districts. Also, homes in high quality school districts sell faster than those in other districts. A study recently released by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that increased spending on public schools leads to increased home values.

Widely accessible test scores make it easier for parents to seek out school districts that score best on standardized tests. The impact on schools is noticeable as gaps between school systems grow wider once this information becomes public. Higher scores lead to more community support, which drives the scores even higher. Low scores lead to panic, restructuring, and poor community support, driving scores further down.

In order to really get a sense of the impact that school systems have on property values, one only needs to open up the local paper, look at the standardized test scores for different school districts, and search for the homes for sale within these communities. The results will be plain enough; homes in the top scoring school districts are much more expensive.

As always, if you have any real estate related questions, feel free to contact me at 617-852-0040 or ryan.guilmartin@gmail.com.

 

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