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St. Louis Home Values by School District

St. Louis School Districts:What Effect Do They Have
on the Price of Real Estate?

Does a school district’s performance and ratings have an effect on home values?  Can a similar house cost more in one area than another?  What are people willing to give up to get their child into the best school district they can afford?  These questions and more have been addressed through a couple of national surveys with some real numbers demonstrating the importance of a school district to home buyers.

St. Louis SchoolsWhat Home Buyers Say They Would Give up for
a Highly Rated School District

A Back-to-School Survey conducted by Realtor.com came up with some significant numbers showing the importance of a school district.  The survey findings:

  • One out five buyers say they would pay 6 to 10% above their budget for the right school
  • One out of ten buyers said they would pay up to 20% more
  • One out of five would give up a bedroom or a garage for a better school
  • One out of three would buy a smaller home

How Much More do Home Buyers Pay for Better Schools?

In September of 2013, Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, released a study on the price of homes located in top-rated school districts.  They used a huge database of about 407,000 home sales and close to 11,000 elementary school districts in 57 metropolitan markets (St. Louis was not included).  Their data concluded that on average, home buyers pay $50 more per square foot for homes in top-rated school districts compared to homes served by average rated schools.  Where did they come up with their data?  Multiple listing services, school characteristics and test scores provided by the research firms GreatSchools and Onboard Informatics. See Original Study

Average Home Price Per Square Foot in the St. Louis Area
by School District

Just out of curiosity after reading these reports, we decided to do a limited study on the St. Louis and St. Charles areas.  We wanted to know what  a 2 Story Home with 4 Bedrooms actually sold for per square foot in 2013 broken down by school district. (Please Click the Chart to Enlarge)

St. Louis CountySt Louis School District Price per Square Foot Residential Real EstateSt. Charles CountyPrice per Square Foot St Charles County School District

Finding the Right Home and School District for Your Child

Obviously, the school district is an important factor in selecting a home. The location of a home, a workable floor plan, sufficient square footage, location, lot size, proximity to important amenities is also a strong influence on home values. There are several ways to evaluate a school districts’ performance. Some good sources are the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for a “School District Report Card” and GreatSchools who also have a great mobile app.

Many people feel vulnerable when starting the home buying process or relocating to an unknown area.  This is where we, as Exclusive Buyer Agents, can help you sort things out.  We only work for you the buyer; we take no listings or ever represent the seller.  We feel, and our past clients can tell you, this type of representation not only is stress reducing, but virtually eliminates the conflict of interests that exists in traditional real estate today.

Call us at 636-532-4200 today if you’d like to chat and please try our Search for St. Louis Homes for Sale by School District feature now!

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