Highly Ranked Schools continue to have a Positive Effect on Mercer Island Home Values

Given the strong correlation between high-performing schools and surrounding neighborhood home values, buyers and sellers should be aware of the ways in which well-ranked districts can affect values, especially in highly ranked areas such as Mercer Island.

It is no secret that the Mercer Island School District is ranked very highly when compared to other school districts on a national level. According to the district’s website, Forbes magazine rated the Mercer Island School District among the top 25 best school districts for a buyer’s housing dollar, as well as among the top ten school districts in small cities across the country. Recent plans for rebuilding our schools should further improve these rankings.

So, what does this mean for Mercer Island’s real estate market?

According to an article by Matthew Strozier in The Wall Street Journal last month, “schools have always been a driver for home buyers.” If purchasing a home in one of the higher ranked areas such as Mercer Island, buyers with school-age children will be receiving a top-notch education. Buyers are making an investment in the future value of their home. It was also reported there were fewer foreclosures in high-ranking school districts, and Seattle was one of the cities included in the study, which showed that as the ranking of the school districts went up, the percentage of foreclosures decreased.

People will always seek the best education available for their children, and there is always competition to get into a great school district. For homeowners, this means the value of their property will hold as the market fluctuates. As Strozier writes, “Higher-rated school districts also maintained higher home-sale prices, and higher home prices per square foot.” For the residents of Mercer Island, this means that sellers can ask for a higher price than an equivalent home in a lower-ranked district.

Buying or selling a home is serious business. Fortunately, the Mercer Island housing market is still relatively strong. Don't allow national or regional statistics to make you believe otherwise. Even now, there are well-qualified buyers wanting to buy homes in areas with good schools. Even if children aren’t in your future plans, owning a home in an area like Mercer Island, with high ranking schools, will greater ensure the value of your home especially in these uncertain economic times.