Top rated schools helping boost a weary London housing market

The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed how house prices surrounding schools across the capital with an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding are going against the grain of a lethargic London property market, with a far higher rate of growth when compared to their wider boroughs.

Benham and Reeves analysed house prices across London postcodes home to schools with Good or Outstanding Ofsted ratings, how they have performed over the last year and how this performance compares to the wider borough in which they are located.

The London market has held fairly firm over the last year despite the wider economic landscape, although house prices have cooled by a marginal -0.6% over the last year.

However, the research by Benham and Reeves shows that, on average, house prices in postcodes home to schools with an Outstanding Ofsted rating have increased by 1.9% annually.

In contrast, the average annual rate of house price growth seen across the wider boroughs in which these schools are located sits at just 0.2%, meaning that postcodes with schools rated as Outstanding have seen house prices increase by a far higher margin over the last year alone.

At the same time, postcodes home to a school with an Ofsted rating of Good have seen house prices climb by 2.3% over the last year, while the rate of growth across their respective wider boroughs has averaged an increase of just 0.6%.

But it’s not just house price performance where top Ofsted rated schools are helping to stimulate the market.

House prices within postcodes home to schools with an Outstanding command a 1.9% premium versus the average across their wider boroughs. While this may not particularly seem significant, this house price premium has grown considerably since last year when it sat at just 0.1%.

Last year, house prices in postcodes home to a school rated by Ofsted as Good actually came in 1% below the average across their wider boroughs. However, today they now command a marginal premium of 0.7%, a swing of almost 2% in a single year.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Such is the demand for schooling within London that homes within any catchment area can be sought after, even if those schools don’t hold a gold star from Ofsted.

However, most parents will understandably be keen to secure a spot within a school with a favourable rating and this can drive an unusually high level of competition within confined pockets of the London market.

As a result, house price growth within these postcodes is going against the grain of the wider London market which has remained largely static over the last year and these homes are also commanding a premium when compared to the average price across their wider boroughs.”

School data sourced from Gov – Find school and college performance data in England
Postcode house price data for each school sourced from PropertyData
Borough level house price data sourced from the Gov UK House Price Index (June 2023 – latest available)