New research from sales and lettings firm KIS has shown that proximity to a good school might add as much as £100 a month to the cost of renting a North East property.
The news comes the week 11% of children missed out on a place at their first choice of primary school – rising to 14% in Newcastle – with close to 4000 schools around the country reported as full or above capacity.
Wanting to live in the catchment area of a good school is the number of priority for renters, with 70% of those surveyed listing it as a key characteristic of the home they want – compared to just 50% listing ‘being close to work’.
According to the report, the average monthly rent in the region now stands at £552 – suggesting that £99.36 a month could be the regional rental value of closeness to the right school.
Analysis of the North East-based firm’s monthly Metro Map of Tyne and Wear’s property hotspots also reveals that all of the most expensive six stations to rent by on the Tyne-Wear Metro map – Jesmond, Tynemouth, West Jesmond, Gateshead, South Gosforth and Ilford Road – have at least two outstanding or good schools within a mile.
Other key priorities for rental location in the survey, carried out on behalf of PropertyLetBuyUs included being close to friends and family (69%), low crime rate (38%) and closeness to shops and amenities (30%).
Ajay Jagota, Managing Director of KIS, said: “It goes without saying that people will do anything for their children, but it’s fascinating to see that in Tyne and Wear that might mean paying an extra £1200 year in rent for a place at the right school. Those costs are likely to include a rental deposit in the region of £1800 too – another strain on family budgets.
It would be preposterous to see good quality schools as the only driver for rental values – not least since our Metro-based analysis is focused on renting properties which by their very nature have good public transport links –but it’s nonetheless conspicuous that Tyne and Wear’s property hotspots are all areas close to outstanding or good state schools, and given the competition for places at those schools it’s unlikely that that is nothing more than coincidence.
All of which proves the true value of lettings professionals who know on a street-to-street level the best places to buy for landlords and the best value places to rent for tenants.”
