Over the past few weeks, our family has been preparing to send my daughter off to college. For our family, it is a significant milestone on the road map of our children’s future, and a goal shared by many other Orange County families. The quality of our children’s education is important—so important that it often plays a major role in where we choose to live. That is why I would like to take this opportunity to talk about schools’ impact on the home buying decision.

Of all the local neighborhood amenities that can influence a buyer’s decision to purchase a home, proximity to good quality schools is one of the most influential. According to the 2009 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 26 percent of home buyers listed school quality and 21 percent listed proximity to schools as deciding factors in their home purchase.

If you are fortunate to live in Orange County, then you probably already know that the region boasts some of the best school districts in California and even the United States. According to the California Department of Education 2010 API rankings, Orange County’s public schools continue to outperform campuses statewide, with more than half placing among the best in California. In a May 13, 2010 Orange County Register article, County Superintendent William Habermehl noted: “These scores show Orange County has some of the best schools in the state. The county has a higher concentration of high-achieving schools than almost anywhere else.”

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage understands how important schools are to home buyers, especially those who live in Orange County. That is why we have developed several online tools to help you with your home search. On californiamoves.com, you can find detailed community relocation guides for Orange County, with academic information on the public school system, private education opportunities, universities, local childcare and more.

In addition, each property listing on OCViewOnline.com includes details about the community and local schools. All of these resources are available to help make your purchase decision easier—proof once again that Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is moving and learning with you.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 1:00 am and is filed under Bylined Features, Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.