School Catchments and Property Value

If you’re a parent, you know what school catchments are and the importance of them in your childs life. But if you don’t have children, perhaps you’ve never heard of them. So, what are they? Institutions, like schools, serve specific geographic areas.  All schools have a specific area from which students are eligible to attend.  This is called a school catchment area, or map.

Where they are important for both parents and non parents alike, is in property value. All data points to a direct correlation between property prices and school catchment areas. There are loads of readily available studies and if you’re really into math and graphs; check out this extensive study from UBC HERE, but let us simplify.

Ask yourself this: Would you spend more for a property within the school catchment of a top local school?  Any parent with kids in school looking for their new family home's answer would be a resounding yes.  Great school catchments increase desirability and desirability increases value.  As parents are a large buyer pool, catchments should not be ignored by any home buyer.

The library at the new Irene Kelleher Elementary on Eagle Mountain

So let’s get to East Abbotsford! This is a desired neighborhood in the Fraser Valley due to a good safety profile and coveted lifestyle. There are plenty of hiking and biking trails, a world class golf course at Ledgeview, a tennis club and the ARC.  The proximity to the US border & Abbotsford Airport and all the natural beauty of the Fraser Valley make it an idyllic place to live and raise a family, which bring us to the schools.

East Abbotsford has a wealth of top schools for all age levels; boasting full french immersion elementarys to waitlisted high schools for those outside the catchment areas.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: McMillan, Sandy Hill, Mountain, Margaret Stenersen, Thomas Swift, Prince Charles, Auguston Traditional, A.S.I.A.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS: W.A. Fraser, Clayburn

HIGH SCHOOLS: Yale, Robert Bateman