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Good schools and expensive homes are a chicken-and-egg situation. When a school district does well, people are willing to pay more for a home in the district. Those higher property values then feed back into the school system, funding even better programming, elite sports and school district pride.
We in Dallas know this well – look at Highland Park ISD, where, if you’re willing to shell out the median home price listing of $4 million, your child is almost guaranteed to get into an exceptional college after four years of donning the Scots’ navy and gold.
However, according to a recent survey by Realtor.com, DFW’s most sought-after school district isn’t Highland Park ISD after all. The report shows that out-of-district home buyers looked to Carroll ISD in Southlake more than any other North Texas district between May and July of this year, and those Southlake Dragon hopefuls were willing to pay the nation’s highest premium for an in-district home.
The median listing price for homes in Carroll ISD was $2,159,833 for the months covered by the survey, a 390.9% premium compared to listing averages in the surrounding suburbs.
“School quality has long been a driver of homebuying decisions. Our data shows families are making tradeoffs – sometimes paying a significant premium for top-rated districts, and other times prioritizing value in areas that still offer strong academics,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “This year, we also saw sizable interest in districts outside major urban centers, reflecting both affordability concerns and a desire for lifestyle amenities.”
Southlake isn’t alone in its high home prices, although a spot in a Carroll ISD classroom will cost you significantly more than comparable districts in other cities. The study examined sought-after school districts in 50 metros and found that in 27, home prices were considerably higher than in the surrounding areas.
In the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, Wimberley ISD was identified as the school district drawing the most homebuyers. While buyers are paying more for a Wimberley home than they would for a house in other cities in the metro, the 60.7% premium is significantly less than Carroll ISD’s. The median home price in Wimberley hovers around $835,900, compared with $520,300 in the surrounding area.
Alamo Heights Independent School District hopefuls are also paying a San Antonio home price premium, around 70.6%.
Only one Texas metro surveyed, Houston, resulted in a lower home price tag for a sought-after district. Humble ISD is increasingly drawing in families, the report found, and home prices are, on average, about 3.3% cheaper than homes in adjoining areas.
On Aug. 15, the Texas Education Agency released A-F accountability ratings for the 2024-2025 school year. The ratings are considered the clearest assessment of how well an individual school or district in Texas is performing at the end of each school year.
Unsurprisingly, scoring 96 out of 100 points, Highland Park ISD took North Texas’ top-rated spot.
Right on their heels, though, was Carroll ISD. The Dragons scored 95 out of 100 points.
We’re willing to bet that a few Southlake Realtors fell over in glee.
