Public school catchment zones are producing stronger-than-average price growth: Domain

“This growth isn’t surprising,” according to Domain’s chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, who revealed, “there will always be a high demand for housing in particular school catchment zones.” 

“When people are looking for a home, we know that they’re looking for a lifestyle, and education is a big part of that, no matter what part of Australia you live in or your housing budget.” 

It’s important to note that a school catchment zone, defined as the geographical location where a state school’s core intake of students must live, can cross multiple suburbs, meaning they may not include suburbs in their entirety. 

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) outlined 64.5 per cent of students attended government schools. 

Within the combined capitals, 49 per cent of primary government schools and 48 per cent of state secondary school catchment areas are outperforming their respective suburb’s price growth. In regional Australia, 46 per cent of primary school catchment zones and 100 per cent of high school catchment zones report stronger price growth.

“Almost half of government school catchment zones saw house prices rise faster than the suburb they are located in, with most having up to 10 per cent additional growth,” Dr Powell revealed. 

“This just shows how important the geographical location of a property in relation to school catchment zones is to parents and investors,” she added.

Domain’s report highlighted the top 10 primary and secondary school catchment zones, which “all reported higher than 28 per cent housing growth annually,” with many of the list-topping zones located around the outer fringes of Australia’s capital cities. 

Queensland is the dominant state, with seven primary school zones and nine high school zones located in the sunshine state.

Walloon State School in Queensland topped the primary school list with an annual price change of 43.9 per cent, followed by Artarmon Public School in Sydney (43.5 per cent growth) and Canungra State School, west of the Gold Coast (42.9 per cent price rise).

Tamborine Mountain State School, located between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, claimed the number one position in the secondary school rankings, reporting an annual price change of 37.9 per cent, followed by fellow Queensland schools Beaudesert State High School (32.6 per cent), and Woodridge State High School (32.4 per cent) to round out the top three. 

Outside of Melbourne and Canberra, Domain found secondary schools have a bigger impact on annual price growth. 

Discussing Queensland’s prominence on both lists, Dr Powell noted that “while these areas have all experienced growth, most are well under their capital cities’ median house prices bringing to light the impact of the past years’ cost of living environment.”

Families have pivoted their search for catchment zones near beaches and parks, with affordability remaining high on families’ property wish lists, according to Dr Powell. 

As for why markets such as Sydney and Melbourne did not perform as strongly, she outlined the varied impact of the market’s downturn as a primary factor.

“This weaker outcome relative to other cities is anticipated,” she said. “Sydney and Melbourne have been leading Australia’s housing downturn, having some of the deepest falls from their house price peaks. 

“While the top school catchment zones in Sydney and Melbourne are spread across the cities, they largely favour growing areas that offer affordability, with the majority sitting below the overall median house price,” she concluded.