Parents shell out extra £30,000 for home in right school catchment area


Updated on 07 September 2015 | 2 Comments

New study reveals the astonishing premium parents will pay to secure a property in the right postcode.

Research has found that parents looking to buy in a desirable school catchment area will pay tens of thousands of pounds more for their home.

Over a quarter of parents with school age children have bought or rented a new property in order to secure an address within their desired school catchment area, according to research by Santander Mortgages. These parents are paying premiums of up to 18% for those homes. That’s equal to an incredible £32,127 for the average home.

Average property premiums

The premium you have to pay for a property in your desired postcode varies depending on which region you are buying in, as the table below demonstrates. While those in London pay the biggest premium in pure cash terms, when you look at the percentage premium it's actually those in the North East and Scotland who are forking out the most to get within the right catchment area.

Region

Average premium percentage Paid

Average price in the region

Average premium paid

North East

21%

£98,374

£21,086

Scotland

21%

£179,790

£37,996

East Midlands

18%

£135,033

£24,209

South West

17%

£135,033

£22,506

East of England

17%

£201,465

£33,242

London

16%

£474,544

£77,113

South East

15%

£135,033

£20,846

Wales

15%

£117,032

£17,555

North West

15%

£113,301

£16,612

West Midlands

13%

£137,121

£17,277

Yorks & Humber

8%

£123,471

£9,557

Parental sacrifices

It isn’t just money that parents are prepared to part with in order to get their kids into a desired school. Almost a third (31%) have had to change jobs as a result of the move, while 25% had to buy a smaller home in order to be able to afford to live near a good school.

[SPOTLIGHT]Having gone through all that, over three quarters of parents admit that the move is short term and they intend to leave the area either once their child has secured a place at the school, or they have finished school.

“With competition for school places fiercer than ever, parents are making significant financial and lifestyle sacrifices to be within the catchment area of desirable schools,” says Miguel Sard, managing director of mortgages at Santander UK. “All buyers will have a wish list of what they want their new home to have and being within a certain school catchment is increasingly common amongst young families – but can often come at a cost.”

The most likely to move

Overall it is parents living in the North East and London who are most likely to move in order to secure an address in a specific catchment area, with almost half of parents moving. In contrast just 11% of parents in Wales feel the need to shift properties for the sake of a school place.

Region

Sold old home and moved

Purchased a second property

Rented a new home or second property

Total

North East

24%

12%

10%

46%

London

18%

17%

11%

46%

South East

6%

17%

11%

29%

Yorks & Humber

11%

8%

6%

25%

North West

13%

9%

3%

24%

East Midlands

12%

11%

1%

24%

West Midlands

9%

9%

4%

22%

South West

4%

9%

3%

16%

Scotland

7%

4%

3%

14%

East of England

3%

9%

2%

14%

Wales

5%

4%

2%

11%

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