Assessing the Relationship Between School Quality and Home Prices Across the Keystone State

For families, schools play an important role in residential decisions. A 2015 home buyer survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors found that 30% of all home buyers and 43% of home buyers under the age of 50 considered the quality of their school district when choosing where to purchase. This study examined the relationship between home values and school performance to measure the way schools contribute to home prices in Pennsylvania.

Of course, school quality is only one of many factors that influence home prices. This study accounted for the following differences between school districts to isolate the relationship between school performance and home sales prices: historical home values, income levels of district residents, population growth, unemployment rates, and the geographic region. The analyses were designed to ensure that rapid population changes between 2010 and 2015 in any district would not unduly influence the relationship between district performance and changing home sales prices. After accounting for these differences between districts, school performance was significantly and positively associated with changes in home sales prices across the state.