Location, location, education: School house price premium falls

Families are still paying substantially more to live in areas with England’s best-performing secondary schools. However, the house price premium is shrinking.

New research from Savills shows homes in the top 10% of constituencies for school performance cost an average of £645,601. That is 29% above their respective regional averages.

For detached homes, the difference is even greater. The average price reaches £1.41m, representing a 56% premium.

However, the strongest-performing school areas have recorded some of the weakest house price growth over the past decade.

As a result, the premium has fallen from 33% ten years ago to 29% today.

Richmond Park tops school performance rankings

Savills analysed house prices and secondary school results across 543 parliamentary constituencies in England.

The research used average GCSE Attainment 8 scores achieved by schools over the past three years.

Richmond Park topped the rankings with an average score of 64.7. Meanwhile, its average house price stands at £1,059,496, some 54% above the London average.

Altrincham and Sale West ranked second, with an average Attainment 8 score of 61.4. Homes there cost £557,947 on average, more than double the North West regional average.

Chipping Barnet came third, with an average score of 60.6 and house prices of £708,773.

Finchley and Golders Green ranked fourth, followed by Wycombe in fifth.

Overall, the 20 highest-performing constituencies have an average house price of £776,678. That is 43% above their respective regional benchmarks.

Where strong schools don’t mean higher house prices

However, the research also highlights significant differences between locations.

For example, some constituencies with strong secondary school results have house prices below their regional averages.

In Carshalton and Wallington, which ranks ninth nationally, the average property costs £491,271. That is 29% below the London average.

Similarly, Sutton and Cheam ranks seventh but has an average house price of £515,839, representing a 25% discount.

Meanwhile, Brent West also offers a 25% discount to the London average, despite ranking among England’s 20 highest-performing constituencies.

For estate agents, the figures highlight how school performance and property prices do not always move together.

House price growth weakest in top school areas

The biggest shift, however, has occurred in house price growth.

Over the past five years, property values in the top 10% of constituencies for school performance have risen by just 5.3%.

By contrast, prices in the bottom 10% have increased by 14.3%.

The difference becomes even more pronounced over a decade.

House prices in the highest-performing school areas have risen by 29.8% over ten years. Meanwhile, values in the lowest-performing areas have increased by 50.2%.

Savills attributes much of the difference to geography.

Many of England’s strongest-performing secondary schools are concentrated in London and the South East. However, higher-value housing markets in these regions have experienced weaker growth.

Higher mortgage rates have also placed additional pressure on buyers.

Consequently, the premium for homes in the top-performing school constituencies has narrowed from 33% a decade ago to 29% today.

Higher mortgage costs put pressure on families

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Families continue to pay a significant premium for homes in areas with the strongest-performing secondary schools, particularly for detached houses suited to a longer-term family move.

“But weaker price growth in these higher value markets is beginning to reshape the results. While homes in the strongest-performing areas remain significantly more expensive, their premium over the regional average has narrowed over the past decade.”

Cook added: “Higher mortgage rates have made it more difficult for households to buy in many of these areas. On the one hand that has suppressed prices. But it has increased the monthly cost of living in areas with access to good state schools, for families with a mortgage.”

England’s 10 highest-performing constituencies for secondary schools

Source: Savills analysis of Department for Education and Land Registry data. House prices cover the year to June 2026.

By comparison, homes in the bottom 10% of constituencies for secondary school performance cost £253,497 on average. That is 20% below their respective regional averages.

Although school performance remains an important consideration for family buyers, wider housing market conditions are increasingly influencing the premiums they pay.