With the local inventory of quality properties being fairly tight, some homebuyers are considering where they might compromise.  Can you live with a smaller home and/or lot?  A home that needs work?  Different neighborhoods?

Or how about school districts?

Would you consider a change in schools when you can get a better value on homes in that district? There are highly-ranked elementary and middle schools in most districts, let’s just look at the high schools for this discussion.

The stats from www.greatschools.org:

High School 2010 API Score 2009 API Statewide Rank Parent rating # of students
Canyon Crest 894 10 9 1,780
Torrey Pines 870 10 8 2,691
Westview 851 10 9 2,431
San Dieguito 847 9 8 1,495
La Jolla 841 9 8 1,637
San Marcos 829 9 9 2,030
La Costa Canyon 816 9 7 2,534
Carlsbad 812 9 7 2,944

I’m not advocating Westview or San Marcos High Schools, but when you can get substantially more house for the money, are they worth considering?  Parts of Carlsbad are in the San Marcos district, and Westview isn’t far from Carmel Valley for the buyers who are looking for those locations.

The parent ratings and comments on the website could be unduly influenced, but the API testing is administered by the state. From the greatschools website:

Although test results can be an indicator of what’s happening in the classroom, they don’t tell you everything about the quality of a school. Always look at more than one measure when judging school performance and visit in person before making any final determination.The API Statewide Rank ranges from 1 to 10. A rank of 10, for example, means that the school’s API fell into the top 10% of all schools in the state with a comparable grade range.

Your thoughts?

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