Yes “location, location, location” is still the first thing that comes out of a buyer’s mouth when asked what’s important in their next home. The second is typically, “We want to live in a good school district!”
Of course, as a licensed real estate sales professionals, we are gagged and bound by money-taking governmental bodies that forbid us from giving facts, figures, or opinions on local schools and school districts. But thanks to the World Wide Interweb it’s not that difficult to find.
Recently, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the 2018 D/FW School District Accountability Ratings, and it’s very telling in regards to real estate.
Can You Guess?
Based on a new criteria, school districts across the Lone Start state were given a letter grade of A to F. Here is what those letter grades mean:
A = Exemplary
B = Recognized
C = Acceptable
D = Needs Improvement
F = Unacceptable
Wow … how far have we come as an educated society when a “C” is seen as something to accept. Weep for the future!
As this is Tarrant County Tuesday, so let’s look at how the larger school districts of Tarrant County fared.
For those of you Dirty Readers who know Tarrant County, do you see a pattern?
The school districts that received an “A” or “B” for overall rating are located fairly close to one another, are newer school districts with many planned communities and developments. Let’s call them “The Burbs.”
Those districts that received “acceptable” (if you want to accept a “C”) are in close proximity to one another and are the two largest ones — Fort Worth ISD and Arlington ISD.
Things That Make You Go Hmmm …
What really surprised me when I started digging into the school tax rate is that many of the higher-rated districts have relatively low tax rate on property values whereas the highest rate ($1.67 per $100 valued) belong to the two lowest rated districts.
The most sought-after areas in Tarrant County to live are Keller, Southlake (Carroll), Mansfield, Grapevine, Colleyville … see another pattern?
Highly rated school districts attract people wanting to live in those districts, which creates a supply-and-demand problem where prices of homes and land increase because there is competition. Amazing!
(By the way, I went to Boerne ISD, which is rated with an “A,” so I guess I am pretty smart … now what I learned is a different story.)
It’s not rocket science. It’s not even about throwing money at the issue- as shown that poorer districts given money hasn’t helped their rating or real estate – if you build it, they will come
The Rest of North Texas
Once again, not surprisingly, North Texas schools on the other side of D/FW Metroplex also had mixed results.
The Plano-Frisco-Allen-McKinney corridor along Interstate 75 is absolutely blowing up in terms of real estate and sky-rocketing home prices. They also happen to have highly rated school districts.
Interestingly enough, the old argument of, “School districts that only want to win football championships don’t care about academics,” isn’t quite true. Aledo, Allen, and Highland Park are frequently hoisting trophies for state championships and they are highly rated districts. DeSoto ISD, recent State Champs, not so much.
What Have We Learned About School Districts & Real Estate?
There is a lot of work to be done in Tarrant County school districts.
If homebuyers only want to purchase in highly rated districts, the gap between districts will widen as will the cost of homes in those respective areas. That chasm already exists, but could get much wider — and that would be detrimental to both education and housing in our fair burg.
Well, that’s all from Tarrant County this week Dirty Readers. Thanks for reading and following and sharing! As always, if you have questions, comments or great ideas for a blog … hit me up!
Seth Fowler is a licensed Real Estate Sales Professional for Williams Trew Real Estate in Fort Worth, TX. Statements and opinions are his and his alone. Seth has been involved with the home sales and real estate industry in the Fort Worth area since 2004. He and his family have lived in the area for over 15 years. Seth also loves bowties! You can reach Seth at: 817.980.6636 or [email protected]
Information collected from: txschools.org, tea.texas.gov, davedowns.com/best-school-districts-dfw, www.nbcdfw.com
