Yahoo Finance Parents pay a 45% premium to get a house near a top state secondary school
Parents are paying a 45% premium to buy houses near the country’s top state secondary schools.
Properties in the same postal district as the best schools have an average price of £415,844 – that’s £128,615 higher than the average house price across England at £287,229.
Research by Lloyds Bank shows homes near Beaconsfield High School in Buckinghamshire pay the biggest premium of £643,181 (158%) compared to the average house price in neighbouring areas.
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Those close to the Henrietta Barnett School in Barnet command the second highest premium of £367,632 (59%).
In the past five years the average price in areas with a top performing state school has grown by £116,696 (or 39%); England as a whole saw a rise of £51,264 (22%).
Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage products director said: “All parents want to ensure their children get a good education, so it’s not surprising that homes in areas close to the top performing schools typically command a significant premium over the surrounding area and high demand has led to prices being out of reach for many buyers.”
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Lloyds Bank compared house prices in the postal districts of top schools with the county average, using government data.
It said property prices in the postal districts of top state schools in terms of GCSE results achieved in 2016 were on average £43,490 or 12% higher than in the wider county.
But parents don’t always have to pay a premium to live near a top school
Almost half of England’s top 30 state schools – 14 in total – are in locations where the average property price is below the average for the area.
With an average price of £288,430, properties close to the Reading School and Kendrick School, both in Reading, are £132,718 (-32%) below the county average, which is the biggest discount for a house near a top performing state school within the survey.
These are followed by Aylesbury High School in Buckinghamshire with a discount of £112,674 and King Edward VI Handsworth School in Birmingham (-£82,640).
