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Copyright 2000 The Press Enterprise Co.
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE (RIVERSIDE, CA.)
July 18, 2000, Tuesday

HEADLINE: Location of quality schools key factor in buying a house: More parents are coming to realty offices knowing which campuses they want their children to attend.

When Anna and Mark Sayles of Big Bear decided to buy a new home,
it wasn't hard to decide where to look.

For more than a year, Anna Sayles has pored through lists of
school rankings and test score results available on the Internet
to find the best school for their 7-year-old daughter, Hannah,
and son, Micah, who is 9.

The Sayles are no different from many Inland area families who
consider the quality of local schools when making home-buying
decisions. With the release of statewide test scores this week,
home buyers will have just one more tool in making their decision,
area real estate agents say.

"Everybody who's buying is interested in the schools," said the
Sayles' real estate agent, Tom Carter of Century 21 Wright in
Temecula.

Even for those without children, the quality of schools is a
primary factor because it affects the resale value of homes, said
Steve Johnson of the Meyers Group, a real estate information group
based in Irvine.

A home's price can appreciate as much 8 percent in a year if
located in a good school district and will appreciate about 2
percent in an average district, Johnson said.

While the strong economy also contributes to a home's value
going up, the median home price in Redlands, which has one of
the best-rated school districts in San Bernardino County, went
up almost 19 percent from 1998 to 1999, which outpaced growth in
median prices in surrounding cities.

"If people would understand that direct correlation to home
prices and school quality, they might get more involved in
improving their local school districts," Johnson said. "It's not
just a one-way street, you can often times improve a neighborhood."

The importance of quality schools has not gone unnoticed by Rancho Cucamonga-based home builder U. S. Homes, which builds homes
in Fontana, Corona, Lake Elsinore and Temecula.

The company requires all sales agents to not only know about the
quality of schools, but to actually visit area schools and get
to know schoolteachers, counselors and staff, project manager
Paul Schroeder said.

In Riverside, agents at Century 21 Lois Lauer Realty have
information about schools available for home shoppers, but they
also refer them to the Web site www.schoolwisepress.com, which
compares schools, according to broker Barbara Moore.

"Buyers are more knowledgeable than they've ever been," Moore
said. "There are several in-depth real estate reports on cable TV,
and there are newspaper columnists who address home-buying issues,
but the greatest influence would probably be the Internet."

Ultimately, the Sayles chose Murrieta Valley Unified because its
Tovashal Elementary School was the top-ranking elementary school in
Riverside County.

Murrieta is also located between their jobs. Mark Sayles is a
civilian deputy chief firefighter at Camp Pendleton in San Diego
County and Anna Sayles will begin teaching at Rialto Middle School
in San Bernardino County this fall.

But Anna Sayles didn't just rely on the scores. She called the
schools and then visited another school in the area, Avaxat
Elementary.

While there, she looked at the facilities, observed behavior of
students during lunch, examined books in the library and spoke to
teachers about the after-school enrichment program.

"It's important to actually go down to the school," she said.
"Test scores may not always be an absolute true reflection of
what's going on there."

The Sayles are still shopping, but Anna Sayles likes what she
saw at Avaxat, and it helped her widen her search area to include
more than just one school.
GRAPHIC: George Campos; The Press-Enterprise; Shopping for a home in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District are Anna Sayles, left, and husband Mark, center, with the help of real estate agent Tom Carter. At right are the couple's children, Hannah and Micah.; PHOTO

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