Proximity to schools a high priority for Canberra buyers: Report

A new report has revealed just how important buying a property in particular school catchment zones is to Canberrans. 

The Domain School Zones Report, released on Tuesday, revealed 98 per cent of primary school priority enrolment areas in the ACT had positive house price growth over the past year. High school priority enrolment areas were only slightly less, with 92 per cent experiencing price growth annually. 

The report calculated annual house price growth by comparing the median sale price of all houses in a priority enrolment area from January 2022 to December 2022 to the median sale price from January 2021 to December 2021. 

The median sale price for each school catchment is based on a minimum of 20 transactions in that catchment. 

While the determination of buyers to purchase in areas that will guarantee entry for their children into schools isn’t the main driving force for house prices, Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said it still plays a significant role. 

“School zones are one of those factors that families, or people considering having a family, consider highly when purchasing because it largely dictates the school that their child will go to for their education,” she said. 

The prioritisation of future education was on top of the list for Spence residents Jacqui and Ash Harris, when they purchased their home back in 2019. 

“When we decided to sell our first home a few years ago, we knew that we wanted to buy a home in the same area we wanted to send our kids to school, as the plan was to stay in the same home during their primary school years,” Jacqui said. 

The oldest Harris child is currently in year 1, but with three more kids starting primary school in the next few years living near a desirable school became even more important for the couple.

“Living close to their school was a huge priority, so much so that we only looked for homes in the same area as a couple of schools we were interested in,” she said. 

“We are so glad to have found a home less than five minutes away from their school because we love being part of the local school community.” 

“While the kids are young, we plan to stay where we are currently living … but when the kids move to high school, living close by is likely to be less important to us.” 

According to the report, Neville Bonner Primary School’s priority enrolment area experienced the largest increase in house price over the year, rising by 22.5 per cent and coming in at $980,000. 

The growth in median house prices near school priority enrolment areas fluctuates however, with the Palmerston District Primary School area – also in Gungahlin and just a 10-minute drive from Neville Bonner Primary School – it increased by only 2.2 per cent year-on-year to $915,000. 

Powell said this is likely due to the differences in what the schools have to offer, and how that appeals to parents at the time of enrolment.

“School specialities can drive parents’ purchasing decisions … it might be a particular aspect that the school excels in, things like art or the specific support they provide that suits their children,” she said. 

“You can have school priority enrolment areas that are neighbouring, and they can be moving at different paces, so there is evidence the areas do have some impact on price.

“Generally speaking, we saw positive growth across all priority enrolment areas – very few didn’t increase and there was fluctuation – but it mostly reflected the market of last year.” 

Canberra’s fastest growing priority enrolment area belonging to Neville Bonner Primary School has had a large population of family groups looking in the area, according to agent Gurjant Singh of New Door Properties. 

This catchment area includes the suburb of Bonner, where the school is located, and a section of Forde north of Helen Crescent and east of Amy Ackman Street. 

“We get buyers on a regular basis who want to buy in an area that is close to a school, especially if it is within walking distance,” Singh said. 

“In Bonner, most cases are buyers with families who look for a property to buy – either with children who go to Neville Bonner already or have children who will start in the future.

“I think the fact their children will have easy access to this school must have played an important role for price growth in the suburb, and close surrounding area.”