- Almost two-thirds (63%) of parents either paid or would be willing to pay extra to buy a property within their desired school catchment area, up from 26% in 2019
- Parents face a 5% ‘school catchment premium’ equivalent to £21,215 to live within their desired school catchment area, outside of London – moving up to 25 miles to bag themselves a home in their preferred catchment area,
- One in five (20%) parents reported stress, with one in ten (10%) experiencing difficulties concentrating at work or suffering sleepless nights during the school application period
New data1 from Santander today shows that parents looking to send their children to one of the top 500 state primary schools outside of London are hit with a 5% premium on properties within the school’s catchment area. In cash terms, parents must pay £21,215 more than the average price of a home in the same area.
Santander data suggests a shift in the priorities of UK homebuyers, with proximity to schools emerging as a critical factor for both men and women when purchasing a property. This surpasses other traditional considerations such as good transport links and closeness to friends and family, marking a notable trend in the housing market.
The school premium comes as Santander research2 reveals a significant increase in the number of parents willing to pay extra to secure their child a place in a top state primary school outside London. Nearly two-thirds of parents (63%) said they have either paid or would pay extra to live within their desired catchment area, a substantial increase from 2019 when just a quarter (26%) of parents said they would be willing to pay extra. What’s more, nearly a fifth (18%) of parents would sell their home to move to their desired catchment area, up from 13% in 2019.
With parents on average reporting that they would be willing to pay 12% extra to live within the right catchment area, the current 5% premium might mean parents find the move more affordable than they had initially expected.
Graham Sellar, Head of Mortgage Development at Santander, commented: “It’s clear that nabbing a sought-after primary school place for your child is playing an increasingly significant role in the property market for parents. As a parent myself, I know only too well the sacrifices we make to support our children, and as our research shows, many start thinking about moving homes to secure a place at the right school even before the baby has been born.
“With almost a fifth of people up for taking the plunge and moving homes to secure their child a school place, it’s no wonder that this has created a sizeable ‘school catchment premium. However with parents willing to pay more than double the current premium to get into the area, along with prices remaining largely flat over the past 12 months and mortgage rates lower than last year’s highs, parents might find moving more affordable than initially expected.”
Santander research also reveals the lengths some parents are willing to go to secure their child’s school place:
- A quarter of parents (26%) start thinking about their child’s school either when they are expecting or when they have given birth.
- Parents on average are willing to relocate up to 25 miles to move to their preferred catchment area, similar to moving from Leeds to York. One in 10 (10%) parents were willing to consider relocating over 40 miles, the equivalent of relocating from Birmingham to Leicester.
- 19% of parents said they are willing to have fewer or no holidays to afford the move, while 20% said they would also stretch their finances to make the move happen.
- Securing a primary school place has a significant impact on parents’ mental wellbeing, with a fifth (20%) reporting they felt stressed about the situation and one in 10 (10%) unable to concentrate at work, while 10% also suffered from sleepless nights.
For more information on Santander’s mortgages and other products, including information on supporting home movers, please visit: Mortgages | Compare Deals & Apply Online | Santander UK.
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Notes to Editors
- Analysis of property paid price data for the period January-December 2023 published by HM Land Registry overlaid on the best ranked 500 primary schools by postcode area and outcode. The 500 best primary schools selected based on their performance in standard assessment tests (Sats) taken in 2023 using the average scores achieved by children in reading, GPS (grammar, punctuation and spelling) and mathematics, as published by The Times Top 500 Primary Schools. Average prices for postcode areas (e.g. “SW1A”) and outcodes (e.g. “SW”) calculated based on the average price paid in the postcode area that contains a top-ranked school compared to other postcode areas without a top-ranked school, and both then compared to the wider average paid price in the wider outcode area.
- Research conducted by Opinium Research amongst 2,000 UK adults between 6th and 9th August 2024.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. At 30 June 2024, the bank had around 19,600 employees and serves around 14 million active customers, including 7 million digital customers via a nationwide 444 branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the FCA and the PRA in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC.LN) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. The group’s activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This operating model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Banco Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Banco Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. In the first quarter of 2024, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total funds, 166 million customers, 8,400 branches and 211,000 employees.