High Home Prices Tied to School District Performance

While the number of days it takes to sell a home in Poway has increased, median sale prices have remained strong this year, thanks to the Poway Unified School District. In July, the city ranked among the top three cities in the state with the largest increases in median home prices, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Area realtors, economists and homeowners attest the overall health of the local real estate market is not just linked to demand but to the strength and quality of the school district.

"Pound for pound, Poway is a good buy and very desirable because of its school district," said Mark Marquez, the San Diego Association of Realtors president.

Marquez, an agent and broker with Weichert Realtors Elite who specializes in sales in North San Diego County, said the median single-family home price in Poway last month was $487,000 compared to $385,000 countywide for the same period.

He said homes in Poway are valued 20 percent to 30 percent more than similar homes in Escondido to the north and 15 percent to 25 percent more than a similar home in Mira Mesa to the south.

University of San Diego economics professor Alan Gin said cities with stronger school districts tend to have higher demand. This demand, of course, supports real estate prices. Gin, a resident within the PUSD since 2002, said school district ratings and performance indexes are quantifiable measures of school quality. These test results affect housing prices.

The recently released Academic Performance Index (API), which annually measures the academic achievement of all the state's public schools for students through grade 12, showed PUSD's overall score increased eight points from 875 to 883 points. The API is reported on a numeric scale from 200 to 1,000. All schools will be required to hit the target score of 800 by 2014.

Mark Betteker, a property appraiser in San Diego for the past 25 years, said that school quality is considered among the top influences on U.S. housing prices.

"People with higher incomes want their children to go to good schools," Betteker said. "They'll pay more to purchase a home within the PUSD because it has a good reputation for producing students that are expected to go to college."

Rich and Kerry Sotelo purchased their home in Poway 10 years ago specifically to be within PUSD.  The couple said that while searching for a new home, they passed up on other more affordable cities because of the reputation of the schools.

"We wanted to make sure we raised our kids in a school district that was top-notch," Rich Sotelo said. "We paid a little extra to purchase here, but so far it has really paid off."  

Sue Herndon, a local realtor and longtime Poway resident, said that people do pay more to purchase a home in the city and will even downsize in order to put their kids in the PUSD.

"The bottom line is, that when you have a good school district, you tend to have people in your community that care," said Herndon, who spent 13 years involved with the PTA and has daughters who teach within the school district. "I always tell people that good schools and good medical care is an insurance policy for property values."

Todd Gutschow, president of the Poway Unified Board of Education, said that investing in the school system is a good idea for the community and for maintaining property values.

Gutschow added that while people pay a premium for the quality of the schools, when they decide to sell their homes that premium would presumably still exist.