Affordable Homes and Good Schools Don’t Always Go Hand-In-Hand
You are a young family looking to purchase your first home. You’ve heeded the advice of your parents and grandparents and your home search is concentrated in areas with good schools. After all, that’s how they found homes, right? Well, according to Realty Trac, 65% of homes nationwide that are associated with a good public school are out of reach for an average wage earner. Realty Trac analyzed school test scores for almost 27,000 public elementary schools in more than 7,200 zip codes and compared those test scores to home price affordability in those same zip codes. Out of 1,823 zip codes with at least 1 good school, 1,192 (65%) were unaffordable for average wage earners.
Los Angeles came in as the most unaffordable area. And the news gets worse for the Golden State. Of the top 11 most unaffordable areas, 6 of them are in California: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Riverside-San Bernardino, Sacramento, and San Jose.
This becomes more stressful as parents see a good school as a springboard to a good college and, ultimately, a productive career for their children. It’s a tough decision for a young family. Do you pay more in taxes and mortgage in a good public school district or do you buy a more affordable home and shell out the funds for private school. The good news is there is more school choice available now than ever before. The bad news? Parents have to sift through an endless amount of data, reports, and options, to come to a decision on where their child should attend school.
Whatever the decision, Rescue Angel Homes can assist you in finding the right home for your family. Contact us at www.rescueangelhomes.com or 626-788-2288.
For the full Realty Trac report, see: http://www.realtytrac.com/news/home-prices-and-sales/realtytrac-2015-good-schools-and-affordable-homes/