ofsted rating used to increse property value

[lovinguissoeasybecozurrich]

hi all, I'm just asking for opinions and experiences about this.

I'm looking at some houses that I like and they're quite over-priced as it is and when discussing this with the EA, they've given me a whole spiel about the primary schools (two of them) that close by. The EA was really harping about their OFSTED rating of "outstanding".

So I checked with OFSTED and the last inspection was in 2008 for one school and 2010 for the other!! Obviously yonks ago. And then on the website it also says one of the schools "closed" and turned into an Academy in 2012 with no further OFSTED inspections done. That's 11 years without any inspections.

Firstly, I don't really trust OFSTED with all the negative news about that this year. Secondly, is it just me or do these EAs and sellers think buyers are thick or something?? As though we can't check these numbers and "ratings" from a whole era ago??

Please note I don't have children. Just planning ahead.

Can some buyers or anyone with the experiences above tell me what they think of this and maybe what I should say to the EA because I will not be making an offer at asking price (ha!) it will be a fair and square offer also considering the school "catchment" and lack of uptodate OFSTED ratings because 2012 ratings are obviously null and void.

Also what is an Academy School exactly??

Thank you MN!!

Well, being in the catchment area of a good school will make a house more valuable to parents who want to send children to that school. And unless you know the school very well, the only measure available to judge the quality of the school is an OFSTED rating.

So the EA/owners are not necessarily wrong in thinking that proximity to the school may add value to the house. But if it doesn’t for you, then just offer what the house is worth to you. They may accept or they may decline.

It's a desirable selling point for sure. The EA can spiel on about what thry like. Up to the buyer to check the details/work out how much it actually matters (in this case, it sounds like not at all) and offer to suit.

Houses in the catchment for our local outstanding secondary school are about 20% higher than prices just outside the catchment.

Obviously if the school goes downhill or shuts or something, they will lose value, but it is a better proposition than the cost of 7 years of private school fees (£175k locally), as at least you have a chance of getting your money back when you sell.

Lots of ofsted outstanding schools have gone many years without re inspection. It’s not great, IMO, but it’s not the seller’s fault!

Yes desirable school catchments can increase property value. Its not always the ofsted rating... its reputation, results or just some undefined factor that makes School A more attractive than School B.

A property is only worth what someone will pay for it, so if school catchment doesn't attract you you might not want to pay for it

Please note I don't have children.

You can tell. The quality of catchment schools is very important to buyers with school aged children. The desirability of living in catchment increases the worth of a property to those buyers, so the asking price and value goes up.

Schools with very periods of time between ofsteds tend to be the very best schools. Ofsted are trying to reassess outstanding schools who've not been inspected for 10+ years. But they're doing that on a programme of triaged risks. The longer they've been waiting, the better that zchool probably looks, on paper st least

Being in catchment for the sought after secondary adds 400-500k on houses here… Primary less so but there are more options

What makes you think the houses are overpriced? Have they been in the market a long time? Are they priced a lot more than similar houses in the same catchment area?

Ultimately a house is worth what someone will pay /only overpriced of it doesn’t sell.

It is possible you just think it’s overpriced because it is more than you want to pay.

Offer what you think it is worth, but there is no doubt that being in the catchment area for an "outstanding" school increases both house prices, and competition to buy.

The same is true for schools that are popular and oversubscribed, regardless of Ofsted rating. If you really don't care about this, you would be better off buying elsewhere. Just a street away can put you out of range, and prices drop.

You can make whatever offer you feel is right. But it's up to the seller if they accept it or not.

Outstanding schools have often gone a long while since being inspected but they are all supposed to be inspected again by 2025 in theory. The rating may change at that point.

If you were a parent you would understand the premium you pay to live in the catchment of a good school. The EA isn't making it up. It's really a thing.

hi all, thanks for your input BUT

personally, my main issue is that it was 11 years ago they were inspected. that's a whole lifetime and era ago. so much has and can happen in that time it's crazy to use it. if the rating was 2-3 years ago then I'd understand but not over a decade ago LOL.

I'm sorry not sorry. I'm not falling for that utter crap. are most of you replying on her sellers?

I also went to an "outstanding" school (and trust me it wasn't ) but I'm in my 30s now and i've just checked the rating of my old school and it's "good". LOL.

how can anyone even use that to up the price on a house when anything can happen over that significant amount of time. houses shouldn't even include this rubbish and it just goes to show how "better schools" are for wealthier people.

what a pile of crap!

But what are you expecting to happen OP? Are you expecting to go to the EA, say that IYO they shouldn’t take school catchments into account, and they’ll have an epiphany and reduce the price?

if so, you might want to point out that no one is too impressed with general house price increase in the last 30 years either. You might just get lucky and they’ll reduce to 1993 prices.

No. Most of us are parents who've had to apply for school places. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not a valid explanation for houses being more in demand and therefore more expensive.

I don’t and never have owned a house, nor do I have kids. You appear to only be seeing what you want to see. You have determined you think it is overpriced and it might well be - many houses are at the moment. But many people are telling you being in a catchment for outstanding schools will always raise house prices.

If Ofsted review ratings and it gets downgraded from outstanding to good, that’s still a very good rating.

When I look at houses to buy, I ALWAYS look at the ratings of local schools. I do this because I know my future house is likely to maintain its value in years to come far more than a house with no access to good schools - not because I want to be anywhere near them.

Listen to what the homeowners and parents are telling you. For a lot of people, it’s the very top of the list of ‘things I need in a new home.’

I am sorry your education was shit, but that doesn’t mean you get to be right above and beyond what everyone else in this thread is telling you.

People are obsessed with their kids education. Don’t let an inherit distrust of EAs and the bs they often spout cloud your judgment in this case. Because the EA is right.

I have to agree with everyone else.

Not sure what you are wanting from this thread.
It is a fact that schools that are perceived as 'outstanding' push up the prices of houses nearby. To pretend otherwise is just sticking your head in a bucket of sand.

It is also a fact that EAs are working to not only sell the houses, but to get the best price for the houses they are selling. They have a long standing reputation for having a very loose relationship with the truth.

In this case, however, it is true that will add £££ to the cost of houses nearby. It doesn't really matter if you like it or not, it just does.

hi there. it's been on the market since July. They've reduced twice now. I've viewed it once but the EA doesn't know that I use PropertyLog so know about the reductions. at the viewing I enquired about the price to see what he says (he wasn't forthcoming about the reductions) but ended up droning on with a spiel about the so-called "outstanding" schools. i also just checked google reviews on the schools and they aren't great, they're average. one parent saying her kid was bullied and school dealt with it poorly :/ i haven't responded to the EA and waiting a while because it's overpriced. no other viewings except for me and doesn't seem anyone has made an offer. waiting or another reduction otherwise i'm just paying more than i need to, right?! i also have other options and other areas i like so this seller might be waiting forever.

the area doesn't seem like a bad one though but the street is a bit silly. most of the houses are semis or detached but i don't think any of them had private parking, just a small front garden. what a lot of them have done is they've clearly paid the council to bring the kerb down infront of their houses so they can have access to make-shift private parking. the kerb looks so weird. also, the house i'm looking at doesn't have private parking (the kerb is up like normal) but does have space for a car in the front . that means i'll have to contact the council, get permission to drop it and they'll probably make me pay for it. so i want that off the price too. the vendor moved in 5 years ago too and haven't done anything with the property at all.

the reason i'm kinda interested in it is because it has a huge garden (rightmove history shows that the current vendor bought it like this - theyve done absolutely nothing to the house and garden, no improvements put in by themselves). i also think the area is relatively safe which is more important to me. but the school rating thing is just not something i can take seriously lol.

i'm personally not bothered about schools in the ratings "good" and "outstanding", i'd be happy with either. i'd be concerned only if it said "requires improvement" mainly because no school should be that while it makes richer people flock away and make the area more deprived.

but i also know from my own schooling experience that i went to an awful school, all of us thought it and then the ofsted report came out "outstanding" and we were shocked. i don't trust that system since i was 14 years old.

this is what i mean though, ofsted rating don't mean anything right now and never have. parents really need to check the real reviews... from kids themselves!

Well, you can say that it’s crap and I would probably agree that a school that hasn’t been inspected for over ten years may well have coasted or changed negatively during that time, but the fact remains that if it’s one of the criteria people use when choosing a house, then you either accept it’s likely to be more expensive and suck it up, or look elsewhere.

you would buy an over-priced house because of an ofsted rating done 11 years ago when a new one is due soon and the new rating could be more negative/worse? that makes no sense to me

I'm sorry not sorry. I'm not falling for that utter crap. are most of you replying on here sellers?

Nope, just had an offer accepted on a house 500m up the road to get into the desired secondary school catchment! We’ve been looking for something suitable within our price range for three years - houses often go to sealed bids.

Most people move again a couple of years later once their child is safely on the roll - I notice there’s always a flurry of new houses on the market in September and October. We actually don’t plan to move (it’s a doer upper, and if I’m doing it up I want some benefit from living in it!), but lots do.

Because if you live locally and your child goes to nursery/secondary school and you talk to other parents/look at sats/GCSE results, you know damn well which are the good schools and which are the bad ones without any need for Ofsted reports.

hi, thanks for sharing, congrats on the house btw. but are you sure it's a good school? like, really sure? may i ask how you know this? that is probably what i need to know for this house i'm looking at then because i'd rather hear it from current parents and their kids not an ofsted rating that means very little to me. how will you know a school will be good for your kid exactly? thanks

Plenty of excellent schools have gone years in between inspections

I don't live locally to this house i'm looking at.
lots of new parents move to a new area that isn't local to them

But the Estate Agent is factually correct, the school is currently rated outstanding. He’s trying to sell the house for his clients and get the best price. He’s not going to say ‘oh but they’ve not been inspected for years!’ He also won’t be reading out Google reviews of the school and telling perspective buyers ‘it was rated outstanding in 2008 but a lady called SueMurphy1976 has left a review saying her son was bullied and they didn’t handle it well.’ You sound a bit naive about the house buying process. Estate Agents often spout bullshit but in this instance the house you are viewing is near an outstanding school.