Home buyers pay premium to live near top primaries

PrimeLocation.com looked at asking prices in the areas surrounding the top 100 state primary schools in England, using official education figures.

It found that homes in top primary school areas command an average price of £309,732, which is £91,618 or 42 per cent higher than the typical price of £218,114.

The East Midlands showed the biggest difference in price, while London had the lowest primary school premium.

The survey reveals that an even bigger price gap than a similar survey of secondary schools carried out in September 2011.

The earlier survey revealed that living near one of the 50 best secondary schools in the UK adds an extra £77,000 to the value of a home – £14,000 less than living near one of the nation’s top primary schools.

Demand

Primary schools in the East Midlands were found to command the biggest premiums in percentage terms, with asking prices £82,000, or 48 per cent higher than the regional average of £171,135.

Homes near the Curbar and Grindleford primary schools in Hope Valley, Derbyshire, command average prices of £442,692, which is £271,557 or 159 per cent higher than the East Midlands average.

Yorkshire and Humberside’s top primary school areas are close behind with average prices £75,000 or 47.4 per cent higher than the region generally.

Demand for properties near St Mary’s Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in York has helped prices to rise to £275,642, which is 75 per cent higher than the regional average, researchers said.

While the added value of living near a top primary school in the North West stands at around £52,000, properties near St Joseph’s Roman Catholic primary school in Hurst Green, near Clitheroe, Lancashire, have a typical asking price of £572,421, which is two and a half times the price for the area.

‘External influences’

However, asking prices in areas close to top-ranked primary schools in London, which is generally seeing stronger house price rises than other regions due to strong overseas buyer interest, attracted the smallest premiums, with prices 7.4 per cent higher.

Nigel Lewis, a property analyst at PrimeLocation.com, said: “While asking prices in the capital are on average higher than the rest of the UK, it has the lowest primary school premium in the country.

“This could be because external influences on house prices here are much stronger and high population density means there’s more competition for homes in London, even without the lure of living near a top primary school.”

The primary premium in each region of England

1. East Midlands, £171,135, £253,238, 48 per cent
2. Yorkshire and Humberside, £157,718, £232,518, 47.4 per cent
3. West Midlands, £176,519, £253,883, 43.8 per cent
4. South East, £271,367, £371,823, 37 per cent
5. East of England, £210,981, £283,179, 34.2 per cent
6. North West, £163,124, £215,951, 32.4 per cent
7. North East, £148,121, £191,439, 29.2 per cent
8. South West, £236,085, £300,514, 27.3 per cent
9. London, £460,386, £494,678, 7.4 per cent