Local Schools Are Critical to Millennial Home Buyers Realtor.com® Back-to-School Data Shows

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Aug 18, 2014, 09:00 ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennial buyers are ready to call the suburbs home if that means quality elementary schools. Just in time for the back-to-school season, realtor.com^® today reveals the most popular cities and schools viewed using its search-by-school feature, which allows people to explore homes for sale based on specific schools and school districts.

Millennials – people born between 1980 and 2000 – are less likely than other generations to compromise on school districts when searching for a home. Fifty-two percent of millennials report that school districts are a deal breaker in their home search, compared with 31 percent of all buyers, according to a recent realtor.com^® study.

Most of top 10 cities where people research the most school information on realtor.com^®are located in affordable, suburban communities outside of larger urban areas. Generally, the suburbs attract younger buyers because of their close proximity to urban job markets and less expensive housing. In June, the top 10 neighborhoods include: 1) Bethel, N.C.; 2) Gadsden, Ala.; 3) Agoura, Calif. (near Los Angeles, Calif.); 4) Kensington, Md. (near Washington D.C.); 5) Greenwood Village, Colo. (near Denver, Colo.); 6) Greenacres, Fla. (near West Palm Beach, Fla.); 7) Watauga, Texas (near Fort Worth, Texas); 8) La Crescent, Minn.; 9) North Hollywood, Calif. (near Los Angeles, Calif.) and 10) Fairburn, Ga. (near Atlanta, Ga.).

Realtor.com^® search-by-school data also reveals that elementary schools are on the minds of those looking for homes. Eight of the top 10 most popular schools viewed on realtor.com^® (see chart below) include kindergarten through fifth grade. This indicates that the majority of people who research schools either have young children or expect to start a family when they buy their next home.

"Local schools are clearly more important to specific population segments – such as today's millennials, who either have or are planning to have children. High-ranking schools can have a positive impact on home values over time as new families pay a premium for access to better schools," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com^®, the leader in providing consumers with the most accurate U.S. residential listings online*

The realtor.com^® search-by-school feature helps buyers quickly and easily filter accurate local school information so they can decide which homes meet their family's educational needs. Some of its key features include:

GreatSchools data displayed for each school including: parent ratings, student to teacher ratio, test scores and a Great Schools ranking
An interactive map shows GreatSchools ratings and assignment boundaries for each school in a local area
Homes can be searched by public schools or school districts
The 'Nearby Schools' button on the realtor.com^® mobile app uses a Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to find schools in the home buyers desired neighborhood.

Most Viewed Schools on realtor.com^® in June

Rank	School	Location
1	Lacrescent-Hokah Elementary School	Houston County, Minn.
2	James Catholic School	Etowah County, Ala.
3	Pine View School	Sarasota County, Fla.
4	Harvest Christian Academy	Tarrant County, Texas
5	Hendy Avenue School	Chemung County, N.Y.
6	Bethel Elementary School	Pitt County, N.C.
7	Celebration School	Osceola County, Fla.
8	Viera High School	Brevard County, Fla.
9	Malibu High School	Los Angeles County, Calif.
10	Erpenbeck Elementary School	Boone County, Ky.

Cities with the Most School Views on realtor.com^®in June

			Median Listing Price	% YY	Total Listings	% YY	Median Age of Inventory	% YY
National			$215,000	7.55%	1,893,907	-0.92%	76 days	-5.00%
City	MSA	MSA Search Rank	Median Listing Price	% YY	Total Listings	% YY	Median Age of Inventory	% YY
Bethel, N.C.	Greenville N.C.	N/A*
Gadsden, Ala	Gadsden, Ala	N/A*
Agoura, Calif.	Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.	7	$499,000	8.48%	20,013	8.49%	54 days	12.50%
Kensington, Md.	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV(MD)	41	$325,000	9.24%	10,302	-1.05%	61 days	-12.86%
Greenwood Village, Colo.	Denver, Colo.	21	$352,413	19.46%	6,493	-13.99%	21 days	-22.22%
Greenacres, Fla.	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.	13	$269,000	14.47%	15,084	-12.90%	83 days	-23.85%
Watauga, Texas	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	11	$196,900	9.39%	7,518	-13.22%	48 days	-7.69%
La Crescent, Minn.	La Crosse, WI-MN(MN)	N/A*	$175,000	2%	124	-14%	105 days	3%
North Hollywood, Calif.	Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.	7	$499,000	8.48%	20,013	8.49%	54 days	12.50%
Fairburn, Ga.	Atlanta, Ga.	6	$209,500	13.30%	38,418	-8.96%	69 days	-8.00%

*Housing data not tracked by realtor.com^®.

Read more from Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com^® @SmokeonHousing.

Any statistics published from this news release must be attributed to "realtor.com^®." Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) operates realtor.com^®.

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*"Most accurate" claim(s) pertain to the accuracy of home listings, are based on comparison with other national listing portals, and are based on the greater frequency of listings updating on realtor.com^®.

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com^®Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), a leading provider of online real estate services, operates realtor.com^®, which connects people to the essential, accurate information needed to identify their perfect home and to the REALTORS^® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website for the National Association of REALTORS^®, realtor.com^® empowers consumers to make smart home buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smart telephones. Realtor.com^® is where home happens. Move's network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools and accurate information including Doorsteps^®, HomeInsight^SM, SocialBios^SM, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet^SM, homefair^SM and Relocation.com. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation's leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead^®; Top Producer^® Systems; and FiveStreet^SM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of the Silicon Valley — San Jose, CA.

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SOURCE realtor.com