As September came to a close, so did the third quarter of 2020. With a full quarter of data (and a very busy quarter at that) I wanted to look sales data as it relates to quality of the school district. School district is often an important consideration when shopping for a home. There are many ways to assess school district quality, but I chose the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Performance Index from the most recent year available ( find it here). I chose to exclude Cincinnati Public, since it is quite variable in home price and schools range from exceptional to below average, making district level comparisons difficult. Here is what we find:
- As one might expect, there is a strong relationship between median home price and ODE Performance Index, with high home prices associated with higher ODE Performance Indexes.
- The top five school districts have a median home price of at least $380,000.
- Higher quality school districts with less expensive homes (better schools for the money) are found towards the lower right of the chart.
-
Top 3 school districts with median sales price <$350,000:
- Forest Hills Local, Lakota Local, Milford Exempted Village
- Top 3 school districts with median sales price <$300,000:
- Forest Hills Local, Oak Hills Local, and Southwest Local
- Top 3 school districts with median sales price <$250,000:
- Oak Hills Local, Deer Park Community, Fairfield City
- Top 3 school districts with median sales price <$200,000:
- Oak Hills Local, Deer Park Community, Norwood City
- Two school districts where your dollar will go the furthest in terms of school district quality are Forest Hills Local and Oak Hills Local
- Forest Hills Local is the top ranked option with median home price below $350,000 and among districts with median home price below $300,000. The median home price here is $272,000.
- Oak Hills Local is ranked #4 among districts with median price under $350,000, #2 among districts under $300,000, and #1 among districts under $250,000 and under $200,000. Median home price in Oak Hills Local is $175,000.
Median home price in the district doesn't always accurately describe the affordability of a school district. The district with the highest median home price, Indian Hill Ex Village, includes areas of Sycamore Twp where smaller 3 bedroom homes can be purchased for under $300,000. Similarly, the median sales price for homes in Fairfax, which is part of Mariemont City Schools, was $188,000. Please contact me if you have any questions at 513-830-8227 or beppert@pivotrealty.com. I would be happy to discuss how you can find a home in the school district you desire. |
|
