Should You Buy Property Next to a School? Don’t Make a Bad Decision—Here Are the Pros and Cons

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Finding a suitable property can be challenging, especially if a potential homeowner has specific criteria for what they look for in a home, neighborhood, or new city. Sometimes the best possibilities might be located near a school, which can be a boon for some—especially those with children or those attending college—and a deal-breaker for others. Here are some pros and cons of living next to a school.

Pros

Increased property value

Homes located near schools—especially good schools—are often coveted by homebuyers. Many home shoppers willingly pay a premium to live near a good school for their children. An NAR survey of recent homebuyers found 26% of them were influenced to buy a home due to a well-regarded school. The number was even higher for buyers in the age range of 30-39.

This can increase competition for homes near schools, which can push up home prices.

Good for families

Living near a school is a plus for parents with younger children. Often, nearby schools will have a playground accessible to the community after school lets out. This means there is no need to pack everyone in the car for a trip to the park. Depending on the age of the children and if the yard has a fence, parents may feel safe letting them go out to play alone, which can help foster independence in them. There may also be basketball courts and other amenities.

It also means that there are likely other families living in the area, which can be great for getting kids outside and making friends.

Kids can walk to school

Parents that live within walking distance of their child’s school can avoid the drop-off (and pick-up) rush, and there can even be an option for the kids to walk to school on their own. Not to mention the savings of not having to buy a bus pass for the student and, even better, not having to wake up as early to get to school on time.

Cons

Affordability

Neighborhoods near schools and colleges—college towns in particular—tend to be more pricey. If you look at the local housing prices near some of the top universities in the country, such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Duke, and Princeton, you’d see a similar pattern of highly-priced homes.

Harvard and MIT are both in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the median sales price is $1M. Stanford, in the San Francisco-San Jose metro, has a median sales price of $1.28M. Duke, in Durham, North Carolina, is up to $415k. Then Princeton, in Princeton, New Jersey, has a median sales price of $1M.

These are prestigious schools in prestigious areas, so it’s not perfectly representative of all schools, but it should be known that proximity to a school does matter and can enhance competition. It also means a solid supply of tenants, reducing vacancy.

Increased traffic

In a school zone, expect to see an influx in traffic at certain times of the day during drop-off and pick-up times. This goes double for elementary schools or schools without parking lots. Depending on the size of the school, heavy traffic could potentially lower nearby air quality and generate a lot of noise during the beginning and end of the school day.

Parking on days that school is in session can be near impossible. If there are events, it could be even worse with parents, friends, and family of the students going to the school to watch a sporting event or performance. If the school does not have enough parking for its staff, the overflow will park in the surrounding streets. Also, some parents may not follow traffic and parking laws, blocking or parking in driveways and double parking in the street.

Noisy neighbors

Any time a lot of kids gather in one area, it’s bound to cause noise. For those who prefer a quiet neighborhood, choosing a home near a school isn’t the best idea. During school hours, homes near schools can hear everything from students playing during recess to the bells marking the beginning and end of each class.

In general, these sounds will cease around the end of the school day, but neighbors may also have to contend with the sounds of after-school sporting events and other activities that can carry on long into the evening.

School emergencies

School emergencies will affect the neighborhood around them. Even if there is no actual emergency, a pulled fire alarm means all students have to evacuate until the school can be checked by emergency services to ensure it’s safe for students to return.

Depending on the school’s layout, students could end up camping out in surrounding front yards or on the sidewalk in front of a neighboring house while they wait for the fire department.

During other emergencies like hurricanes, schools often become shelters for the local residents who need to evacuate from their homes, which leads to additional noise, traffic, and parking problems.

Potential trespassing

If there is a middle school or high school nearby, there may be some privacy concerns since the teens may loiter, cut across yards, or trespass the property. If this is a concern, it will be better to find a property a couple of blocks away to still reap the benefits of living in the vicinity of a school without the possible issues.

Final Thoughts

Whether a property near a school is desirable or not totally depends on the home buyer or renter. There are pros and cons to consider for homes near a school, as we’ve just gone over. It is important to weigh those when deciding where to purchase a new home or sign a lease for a rental property.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.