Will the Milford school levy failure affect property values?
I moved into the Milford school district about 6 months ago, and I'm not feeling so good about the fact that the school levy didn't pass on May 2nd. I'm not just worried about the quality of education for our children, but as a Realtor, I am worried about the effect on our property values.
Will the levy failure affect our property values? The short answer is yes. It might not be immediate or drastic, especially if it passes the next time around. But if the community continues to vote down levies, we will feel the impact significantly.
The real estate market and the quality of a school district (even the perceived quality) are very much tied together. People want to move into communities with strong schools - communities that suppport those schools. When a community continually votes down school levies, the perception is that it is not a good place for young people with families to live, and young people with families are who buys houses.
With cuts all around that result in things like increased class sizes, unhappy teachers, and lack of resources like libraries, we are endangering something else - the school's Excellent rating.
Now, I always advise my clients that you can't judge a school by a simple report card rating, and I firmly believe this. But I'm just one realtor, and these ratings still play a major role in attracting families who are relocating both from within the area and from other cities. If our school district's rating drops, you can expect big problems in the real estate market. It will be especially hard to sell higher-priced homes in this area, when people have the option of going next door to Loveland, who always seems to pass their levies and maintain their school's rating.
I don't know much about how efficient or inefficient this school district is with spending. And I agree that school funding in general should be done differently. But these are not problems I can fix. What I do know is this: I would much rather pay a couple hundred dollars more in taxes each year than lose thousands of dollars in property value appreciation each year.
Will the levy failure affect our property values? The short answer is yes. It might not be immediate or drastic, especially if it passes the next time around. But if the community continues to vote down levies, we will feel the impact significantly.
The real estate market and the quality of a school district (even the perceived quality) are very much tied together. People want to move into communities with strong schools - communities that suppport those schools. When a community continually votes down school levies, the perception is that it is not a good place for young people with families to live, and young people with families are who buys houses.
With cuts all around that result in things like increased class sizes, unhappy teachers, and lack of resources like libraries, we are endangering something else - the school's Excellent rating.
Now, I always advise my clients that you can't judge a school by a simple report card rating, and I firmly believe this. But I'm just one realtor, and these ratings still play a major role in attracting families who are relocating both from within the area and from other cities. If our school district's rating drops, you can expect big problems in the real estate market. It will be especially hard to sell higher-priced homes in this area, when people have the option of going next door to Loveland, who always seems to pass their levies and maintain their school's rating.
I don't know much about how efficient or inefficient this school district is with spending. And I agree that school funding in general should be done differently. But these are not problems I can fix. What I do know is this: I would much rather pay a couple hundred dollars more in taxes each year than lose thousands of dollars in property value appreciation each year.
posted by Jamie Mandel | 11:17 AM
3 Comments:
I as a parent of 2 wonderful children in the Milford school system can not understand why any of the people of Milford would not want their children to have a great education and have the supplies that is needed to achieve that goal. Any of you that voted this levy down AGAIN should be ASHAMED of yourselves.
Several assumptions in the first comment are false: 1) not all of the property owners have school age children and yet we still pay 61% of our property taxes to local education; 2) more money does not necessarily lead to higher quality education.
Parents should pay a higher percentage of the cost of their childrens' education, and non-property-holding parents should be contributing to the schools' funding needs.
If you can't afford the cost of education for your children then think hard about having more children.
Resident of 21 years.
Well Jamie; I too am a Sibcy Cline agent and have been doing so for the past 28+ years. I wish I could be so simplistic in the market place and the need for "good schools". I must tell you that "good schools" does not need to be all about money nor is money always going to be there. I have helped many families move out of the Milford School system due to high taxes and the unfair way they are collected. I also have had several families have me keep them from the Milford Schools due to the unwillingness to be in the midst of the contiuned increase of home ownership taxation. Know that like any market place there is a breaking point and the value of the "product" is only worth so much. Don't be foolish enough to feel that all is well here in our community. The vote took place and in the hidden halls of those in power enough votes were amassed to bring about the outcome you wished would happen. If given the chance to amass votes on behalf of those wishing to retire in the homes we have worked to pay for over the past 30 years we could and will bring about a STOP to the unwanted and poor spending of tax money. I am not Ashamed as some would suggest that I voted down this levy but rather proud of the fact that I am a level headed home owner who looks beyond the halls of the class room and into the lives of all those who are citizens of our community.
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