Why School Catchment Zones are so Important to your Property Price

With the school year just started and the kids back at school, life should be settling into some sort of routine.

But do you know how important the school catchment your home is located within actually is?

Domain released some data recently that said that Brisbane buyers are splashing more cash on properties in key school zones, with house prices in some primary and secondary catchments soared by 46 per cent in the last year.

West End State School, Kimberley Park State School in Shailer Park and Oakleigh State School in Ashgrove, were just some of the zones that outclassed their respective suburbs in annual median house price growth, with a third of all school catchments fetching 10 per cent of additional house price growth over the suburb.

Many of the schools in our region are limited to students who live with in the local region.  These schools are highly desirable.  I fact we are often asked about how to get into a certain school zone.

The compelling report has revealed just how much house-hunting parents prioritise education, said Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell, with the spread of top-performing school catchments across Greater Brisbane further showcasing the city’s changing real estate appetite.

“In the top 10 school catchments, there’s a variety of different price points but let’s be honest, it does not matter what price-point you’re purchasing at, you place a priority on education because we all want our kids to go to the best school,” Dr Powell said.

So how can you find out what school zone you are in?

Fortunately there is a great website provided by the Education Department that will help you to identify where your property is located.

School Catchment website

Here you can search by the School name or by your address.

This is a really handy tool as you can identify exactly what properties are in or out of a particular school zone.

We have seen a situation where someone bought a home only 200m away from the McDowall State School, as they believed that they would be inside the catchment area.  Unfortunately they were not.  So identifying exactly where your property sits is important.

So what are the catchment zones?

The local primary school catchment zones are indicated in this image.  You will note that the schools with a star next to their name are restricted to people living in their zone.

When it comes to the High Schools the map looks like this.

This information if very valuable for investors as well.  Some parents who currently rent are wanting their children to go to certain schools, and will move to ensure that they are located within the “right” school zone.  This will increase competition for any rental property located here.  So not only can property investors get a great rental return, but also enjoy the capital growth opportunities that exist by people wanting to locate to these areas.

So if you would like to discuss how to get into the school zones that you are seeking then talk to the team at Hicks Real Estate.  They can provide you with the latest information to get the best outcome from your next property transaction.

Hicks Real Estate no real estate team has received more awards or knows McDowall and Everton Park more.