Proximity to schools has helped house prices surge by more than 50 percent recently in Parramatta and Harris Park in Sydney's west, according to new analysis from Domain. The group analysed house and unit sales data from the previous year against national government school catchment zones to determine which school catchment zones experienced the highest rate of property price growth nationally.

Domain's data said Parramatta experienced a rise of 56.5 percent in the median price of property prices for the year to April, helped by proximity to Parramatta Public School. Strathfield experienced a rise of 38.6 percent over the same twelve month period, thanks to Strathfield Girls High School. The School Zones Report Card doesn't include selective government schools and non government schools as they do not use residential addresses as part of their enrollment process.

“Agents tell us that sometimes houses on one side of the street can be sold for ten per cent higher or more than their counterparts across the road, simply because they fall within the catchment zone of a highly sought after government school," said Domain's senior economist Andrew Wilson. “When you see one catchment area experiencing higher growth than its neighbours, it can often be as a result of competing parents pushing up the prices as they attempt to secure a place for their child in a top performing school.”

Source: The Real Estate Conversation