Effect of building a new secondary school on house prices

gem599

Hello, I'm new to this board but am a first time buyer who yesterday found my dream house and I would appreciate some advice!

The house is 2 away from the end of a cul-de-sac and beyond the fence are school playing fields with a secondary school on the far side. The vendors were honest and said that the school was being demolished and being re-built on the current playing fields, no closer than 30m to the fence at the end of the cul-de-sac. There isn't and will not be any access to the school from this residential area.

I'm trying to weigh up the pros/cons of having a school next to you versus the community facilities such as theatre, swimming pool, gym etc. The school is run down and badly in need of the work and has low but improving GCSE rates, but would the improvements to the school ultimately make the area more desirable?

It is due to be completed in Sept 2012 and we won't need to sell until it's completely finished so don't have to worry about the effect of the actual building work etc.

Essentially, we don't want to lose money on the property and it's the only thing preventing us making an offer at 9am tomorrow.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice?

Ta xx

carefullycautious

Just make sure they are rebuilding the school. In our area schools were demolished and the fields are earmarked for housing which will impact on you (If you dont like the idea of living on the edge of a housing development)

princeofpounds

If it's a good school then it could end up being significantly positive for family homes, but most likely it will be a slight negative. Access is the big issue- will cars drop off near you? Prob not if a culdesac. Noise is the other one and will depend on plans.

GDB2222

30m from a secondary school is rather close from the POV of noise and disturbance. These schools are a hive of activity, with typically 1000-2000 people on site. There'll be a long period of disturbance from construction. Also, won't kids find their quickest way in, whether there's a designated access from your road or not?

The bottom line is that it's not your dream house. It appears to be offering good VFM because it has all these inherent drawbacks. You'll have to weigh the good points against the bad ones. Personally, I value peace and quiet very much, so this wouldn't be for me.

BTW, everybody wants a good school in the neighbourhood, but not in your own backyard - so it's going to have a negative effect on prices in the future, but hopefully that's already factored in. The reaason your vendor was so up-front about the rebuilding is that they may well have already had somebody pull out once their solicitor looked at the searches.

Milliewilly

I wouldn't touch it personally. Troops of secondary school kids and the associated noise / litter etc will put people off. Parking will be a problem. noise at breaktimes will be a problem.

The gamble is if the school when its newly built turns out to be excellent then prices will rise.

Squish_21

It wouldnt put me off personally, as you say theres no access from your cul-de-sac. Also, you'd hope a brand new school would look more appealing than the old rundown school which is currently there. I dont think it will affect property prices at all.

Running_Horse

I wouldn't want to live next to a school, even if it was excellent, but that's me. It probably won't depress the price if that has already been factored in, and may rise again in a few years once construction is complete. So rather than lowering current price, it will limit those willing to live there, a bit like being on a main road or having no garden. As the current owners realise, best to be honest and open about it.

Doozergirl

There is already a school there so presuambly the price already accounts somewhat for that.

The fact that it is a brand new school will affect people wanting to send their kids there for the better. We have two high schools here, one was always considered much better than the other. They were both rebuilt and the demand for the poorer school rose. Subsequently, exam results have lifted through the building making the school more popular.

You don't say how close the school is presently. I'd not be put off by it personally - you shouldn't get the kids wandering past if you are a culdesac and they will be there when you are at work or whatever. So you'll have peace and quiet over that side most of the time. Some people like their kids being able to walk to school easily etc. If it's a family sized home then you're more likely to get families wanting to buy and therefore less likely to see it as a downside.

If it's a retirement bungalow, it's another story altogether!

gem599

Thanks to you all for the different view points and advice. I am comfortable that I would be happy living there but we will put in an offer around 10% lower than the asking price because there is so much uncertainty around how it will affect the area. The next few days will be interesting!! Thanks again.:)