Properties in school catchment areas in high demand

The school year is almost at its end, which means that parents with children about to leave their primary schools have been desperately trying to make sure that they are able to get into a good school within their area. However, with the demand for school places so high, especially for schools that have a good reputation, many are becoming stricter when it comes to catchment areas, meaning that properties that are available in these areas are becoming extremely sought after.

For example, James Wyatt, director of Barton Wyatt estate agency in Virginia Water, Surrey said: “One family left their multi-million pound mansion to live in a three-bed terrace just to get into Gordon’s School in Woking, which is as good as any public school. Parents will rent whatever they can within the school boundary, which leads to a massively distorted market where rents can increase by 40 per cent plus. It’s wonderful for the landlords working in the area.”

In London the situation is even more profitable, with estate and letting agents noting that when new schools open in a certain area there is a boom in the rental market not long behind. For example, Marc Von Grunherr, director of Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings in London said: “When the French school, CFBL, opened in Kentish Town, we saw a 110 per cent increase in French nationals wanting rental properties near the school. For American families relocating here with one parent working in Canary Wharf, larger properties between St John’s Wood station and the American School on Loudon Road achieve premiums of up to 20 per cent compared with houses outside the two-minute walk catchment area.”

While this may be good news for landlords looking to let properties to families in catchment areas, increasing rent prices could be detrimental to those that have properties more suited for a single person or a young professional. Furthermore, the cost of landlord insurance and council tax could increase due to popularity of certain areas, meaning that in the future landlords could expect to see a windfall. However, for now properties in catchment areas, especially based in London, are some of the most valuable in the whole of the UK, and until the government finds new ways to create more schools it seems very unlikely this will change anytime soon.