In 1978, I wrote an article called “To Sell the House, First Sell the School.” It was published in Real Estate Today, the magazine for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). In it, I challenged real estate agents to do their homework because mounting evidence showed buyers put “good schools” at or near the top of their requirements when searching for a new home.

Things haven’t changed in 25 years.

Today NAR’s Web site (www.realtor.org) has what’s called the “Field Guide to Schools and the Homebuying Decision.” There are articles on school quality and the homebuying decision. One discusses the impact of schools on property values. Another article echoes what I said in 1978 and offers tips to agents on “selling” schools. Lastly, there’s a list of Web sites offering information on school quality.

“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,” notes the Web site. The NAR 2003 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers lists “schools” as the deciding factor for 17% of homebuyers.

Since my article was written, there have been numerous studies attempting to measure which public school quality is most important to homebuyers. Is it expenditures per pupil, teacher/pupil ratios, teacher salary, student attendance rates, graduation rates, teacher experience, college-entrance exam results, or something else?

A 2000 paper by Brian Smith in the Department of Economics at East Carolina University explored, “The Perceived Quality of Public Schools.” He writes, “The value of ‘good’ schools is reflected in prices for owner-occupied houses. The consensus is that the higher quality public schools attract potential buyers better than the lower quality schools do.”

Theodore M. Crone, vice president and head of the regional economics section of the research department of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, says, “Most of these studies have found that after accounting for other neighborhood characteristics, the prices of similar houses are higher in school districts with higher expenditures per pupil.”

He notes that while some studies found no positive relationship between school expenditures and house prices, “the weight of the evidence is that homeowners do value school districts that spend more per pupil.”

Writing in Economic Review published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Kathy Hayes said, “. . . some homebuyers are not only cognizant of differences in school quality but also have revealed their preferences for higher quality schools by paying a premium for their home. “ She suggested that policies that impact schools can have a significant influence on residential property values.

“Many researchers have found that property values are higher where school spending is higher,” says Hayes. “Other researchers have found a positive relationship between housing values and the test performance of students at the corresponding school.” She goes on to say that while test scores seem to influence property values, economists who study schools would not generally consider test scores as measures of school quality.

You don’t have to have children to be concerned about the quality of your local schools. That’s because a school district’s quality affects the resale value of homes. According to Steve Johnson of the Meyers Group in Irvine, Calif., a home’s price can appreciate as much as 8% a year if the house is in a “good” school district but will only appreciate 2% in an average district.