House prices soar in popular school catchment zones around Australia

House prices in some school catchments have skyrocketed by almost 30 per cent over the past 12 months, proving education is not only golden but worth far more to families than a big pool and water views.

Prices soared in both affordable and ritzy neighbourhoods, the latest Domain School Zones Report, released Thursday, showed, as parents sought the best opportunities for their children.

The dramatic price hike comes amid reports of fierce buyer competition in key family hotspots, as growing hordes of home hunters place primary and secondary school access at the top of their wish list.

“These catchments are a fundamental driver for property decisions because education is hugely important,” Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said, adding that price jumps were recorded in both expensive and affordable pockets.

“Because it doesn’t matter what price point [buyers are shopping at], they place equal importance on education, and that’s what this report highlights.”

The report highlighted school zones in major cities where house prices rose the most over the year to October.

Among primary schools, the fastest house price rises were Como Primary School and Dudley Park Primary School in Western Australia, which soared 35.6 per cent and 30.8 per cent respectively in 12 months.

Price rises were strong for several school zones in major cities around Australia.

Sydney

House prices in some Sydney school zones skyrocketed more than 30 per cent over the last 12 months, with more than two dozen public school zones rising 20 per cent or more, the report found.

House prices jumped a whopping 32.3 per cent in the Epping Boys High School catchment, which covers parts of Epping, Marsfield, Macquarie Park and North Ryde – the largest increase for any school zone across Sydney.

Not far behind was the Colo High School catchment, covering suburbs including North Richmond, Kurrajong and Grose Vale, where the median house price jumped 31.9 per cent.

For Kirrawee buyer Pennie Lancaster, buying into the local catchment was the highest priority for her family with their daughter Imogen starting high school next year.

“She has always been adamant about going to Kirrawee [High School] even though we said she wouldn’t know anyone there,” Ms Lancaster said. “She loves singing and performing, and Kirrawee High has had pretty amazing performers at School Spectacular.

“We weren’t in the catchment area [before]. We were ready to move from our previous house, but obviously wanting to be in the catchment basically dictated where we looked to buy.”

Melbourne

House prices rose by more than 20 per cent in 16 public school zones across Melbourne, while more than 90 catchments saw house prices jump by double digits over the 12 months to October.

The biggest jump in house prices – 28 per cent – was in the Staughton College school zone in Melton South, one of the most affordable parts of Melbourne’s west. House prices there soared to a median of $480,000.

Rosebud Secondary College’s school zone, on the Mornington Peninsula, was not far behind, with house prices  leaping by 27.4 per cent to a median of $796,000.

Homes in the Elwood Primary School zone jumped 27.2 per cent to a $1.73 million median, while the Albert Park College zone was up 25.6 per cent to a $1.695 million median. Eltham East Primary School’s zone, up 25.5 per cent to $1.04 million, rounded out the top five school catchment price rises for the year.

Brisbane

Across Greater Brisbane, a whopping 72 per cent of secondary school zones experienced a price rise, compared to a slightly lower 61 per cent of primary school catchments.

Prices in some secondary school catchment zones increased an incredible nine times faster than that of prices in Greater Brisbane, Dr Powell said.

While the report revealed secondary school zones outstripped their junior counterparts in overall performance, it was primary school catchments that claimed the highest property price hikes.

The highly desirable Rainworth State School catchment, in Bardon, had one of the biggest spikes of the year. Median house prices there soared by 27.8 per cent to a bank-breaking $1.15 million.

Prices also soared 29.2 per cent in the Bald Hills State School zone, and 28.8 per cent for Wynnum West State School.

Canberra

More than a dozen school catchment zones in Canberra saw median house prices grow by double digits over the 12 months to October.

The fastest-growing school catchment was Belconnen High School in the Belconnen region, which includes the suburbs Florey, Hawker, Page, Scullin and Weetangera. It experienced the strongest median house price growth of all school catchment zones in the capital, soaring 26.4 per cent over the year to $707,600.

This was followed by the Lanyon High School zone in the Tuggeranong region – Banks, Bonython, Conder, Gordon and Tharwa – with median house prices up 25.4 per cent to $630,000. 

The remaining top 10 school zones for house price growth were all primary schools scattered mostly across the Belconnen and Tuggeranong regions. Tuggeranong’s Charles Conder Primary School zone – Banks, Conder and Tharwa – was the highest performing primary zone with median house price up 23 per cent to $615,000.

Perth

Demand for particular public schools in Perth has driven up house prices in some catchment zones by more than 35 per cent over the past year, with Como Primary School not only topping the WA catchments for price growth but the entire country.

The median sale price for houses in the Como Primary catchment increased by a whopping 35.6 per cent over the year to October, to $901,750.

Half of Perth’s primary school zones outpaced the house price growth of their respective suburb, and almost seven out of 10 secondary school zones performed better than their respective suburbs, Dr Powell said.

Closely following Como Primary School’s catchment was Dudley Park Primary School in Mandurah, where house prices have soared by 30.8 per cent to $276,000, and Secret Harbour Primary School, with a 24.4 per cent rise to a median of $495,000.

With Tawar Razaghi, Melissa Heagney, Jessica Taulaga and Lisa Calautti