New Tool Limits Housing Search to Desired School Zone

• November 1, 2012
• 2 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

Garrison Elementary School

A new web tool from real estate website Redfin allows house hunters to search for available homes that are zoned for a particular school.

Knowing that public school proximity is a huge factor for many looking to buy, Redfin has been incorporating school-related information into its property data for a while. Their new school search function makes it easier for parents to limit their search to homes near certain schools.

Users type in the name of a desired school into the search box, and then available properties in the vicinity of the school pop up. A red line will demarcate the attendance zone. Interested home buyers can also sign up to be notified as soon as a new listing emerges in that zone.

UrbanTurf wanted to check out the tool in action. We started by searching for homes near Wilson High School. Apparently, there are 649 homes for sale within Wilson’s boundaries (which are quite expansive, taking up much for DC’s NW quadrant). When we limited the search to properties that had been on the market for less than 14 days, the number of active listings dropped to 95. On the right side of the screen, there is a box full of information from “Great Schools” about Wilson, including ratings and parent reviews. Clicking through the “Wilson” link leads you to a full page of information about the school.

Next, we tried Tyler Elementary, a Capitol Hill school with a relatively small zone. Only three homes were for sale within Tyler’s bounds, including a small row house and a new condo near the Potomac Avenue Metro.

We imagine this tool will make the process of finding a home near the right school quite a bit easier. Next step: increasing the number of desirable public schools in DC.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new_tool_limits_house_search_to_desired_school/6240

2 Comments

1. Tom A. said at 4:59 pm on Friday November 2, 2012:
   One HUGE issue is that of the charter schools. About 40% of students in a public school in DC are at a charter school. Charter schools don't have zones but are open to students throughout the city. Granted, the number of home owners with students in a charter school is probably relatively low. Few middle and upper income families are involved with charter schools so far, although this is slowly changing.

1. Kara said at 8:19 pm on Friday November 2, 2012:
   What are some of the better charter schools in DC?