Good primary schools cause of Milton Keynes house price hike

A half-dozen top-performing primary schools in MK are causing a property price '¨bonanza that has surprised even estate agents, the Citizen can reveal.

As part of preparations for a property summit this week, experts gathered information about catchment areas for six of the best schools.

They drew a half-mile radius around each schools and compared prices of houses inside and outside of the zone.

The results, said summit organiser Neil Briggs, were remarkable.

He found homes close to a primary school rated highly by Ofsted and league tables were selling for tens of thousands more than identical properties elsewhere.

Yet a study of the city’s best secondary schools showed that proximity made little or no difference to house prices.

“Being close to a fantastic primary school can boost property value dramatically, whereas being close to a large secondary school won’t have the same impact,” he said.

The six primary schools chosen for the study were St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Bletchley, St Mary and St Giles in Stony Stratford, Two Mile Ash Primary, Caroline Haslett Primary at Shenley Lodge, Loughton Primary, Brooksward, and Stanton Primary in Bradville.

Homeowners living in the shadow of Stanton Primary School have the most to be pleased about as properties in their catchment areas have increased by 139 per cent since 2002,” said Neil, who runs CMK-based Inspired Sales and Letting.

This compares to the average increase of 93.8 per cent.

“We all know about location, location, location - but in MK it’s actually all about primary schools.”

More details will be at the Landlord and Investor Summit on Friday at Stadium:MK.

Houses in the catchment area of St Thomas Aquinas school in Bletchley sell for an average £300,000, those outside sell for £262,900 - 12.4 per cent less.

Homes within half a mile of Caroline Haslett, St Mary and St Giles and Two Mile Ash primary schools are worth an average £27,500 more than similar properties elsewhere.

The average property in Milton Keynes is worth £246,500. This compares to £126,800 in 2002.

This is a rise of 93.8 per cent in value over the past 15 years.