Higher SAT Scores Equal Higher Home Values

The quality of a neighborhood's school district has always had an impact on real estate, causing property values and interest in a community to rise if local students are known to perform well.

As government scrutiny on school performance has risen and standardized test scores have been made available on the Internet, however, homebuyers have found it easier than ever to access statistics on local school districts.

Homestore.com, which averaged 8.65 million unique user visits each month last year, reports that school information is the second most sought-after feature on its site after actual property listings. Buyers' growing interest in student-performance information has helped increase the price gap between homes in top-scoring districts and those in mediocre or poor-scoring districts, with the difference eclipsing $70,000 or more in some areas.

Eric Belsky of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University notes that buyers are attracted to the high level of "social capital"—or valuable social contacts and connections—associated with quality school districts.

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