Education influences home buyers and property investors across a broad range of demographics and data shows that it is now influencing property prices in greater Melbourne’s popular education catchments.
Education is a long-term consideration and, whether you are planning a family, have children already enrolled in school, or are an investor looking to attract long term, quality tenants, it may be beneficial to consider school catchment zones when you are determining suburbs of interest.
A well-rated school can do wonders for property value, and recent data shows that school catchment zones can actually have a significant influence over how quickly property prices grow.
In fact, Domain Group’s latest 2021 School Zones Report shows that while Melbourne’s property market has been going gangbusters this year, despite spending almost as much time in lockdown as not, house prices in some Melbourne’s school zones have outperformed and skyrocketed by close than 40 per cent over the past 12 months as fierce competition to get into preferred school catchment areas continues to drive property price growth.
The report confirmed how public school zones can influence property decisions and impact house price movement.
In Melbourne, secondary schools appear to have a slightly bigger impact.
This trend has reversed compared to last year, suggesting at a time of escalating house prices, household budgets have become stretched.
In Melbourne house prices have risen across most school zones analysed, up in 83% of primary and 89% of secondary schools, aligning with the rising property market.
While the top school catchment zones were spread across inner, middle and outer suburbs and across a variety of different price points, a number that topped the list favoured the lifestyle location of Mornington Peninsula.
House price growth varied between neighbouring school zones.
Interestingly house prices in Brighton Primary School zone increased 11% annually, while the neighbouring school zone of Elsternwick Primary School dropped 15%.
Annual house price growth in 48% of the primary and 52% of secondary school zones analysed surpassed the respective suburb price growth, with most seeing up to 10% more growth compared to the suburb they are located in.
Roughly one-in-ten school zones had 10-20% additional house price growth over the suburb’s growth.
Here’s the list for top 10 Melbourne secondary schools catchment areas:
Here’s the list for top 10 Melbourne primary school catchment areas: