The first formal education system was developed during 300 BC by Sumerians and Egyptians to serve as centers for teaching reading and writing. Later on, Confucius added music, literature and ethics to the learning list, and turned schools into enrichment centers. By the time we went to school, they served dual purpose of educating us, and setting the stage for our career choices. However, in the past decade education has evolved into a “race to the top” purely based on numbers. API ranking, API Growth Scores, Test Scores, SAT Scores, GPA – all these numbers have become vital in deciding a student’s future, and in controlling the real estate prices.
Whether we like it or not, for a large population that resides in Irvine, school district was the decisive factor. But even in the best school district, are some schools better than others? Does that affect the price for the particular neighborhood? Before we tell our children that our equity rests in their hands and ask them to bolster their test scores, let’s have a look at the Median Price/SF in the Irvine Villages and the percentage of price change in the last year (disregarding the age of the village, the ethnicity of the residents, the proximity to the freeway and other factors)
|
Village
|
School
|
Median Price/SF
|
Y-O-Y % change
|
|
Northwood (Perfect 10)
|
Northwood Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 937 Santiago Hills Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 961 Brywood Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 926 Sierra Vista Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 948
|
$292/SF
|
-7.6%
|
|
Northwood Point (Perfect 10)
|
Canyon View Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 966 Sierra Vista Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 948 Northwood High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$328/SF
|
-7.1%
|
|
Lower Peter’s Canyon (Biggest Y-o-Y percentage drop)
|
Hicks Canyon Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 942 Myford Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 951 Pioneer Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 939 Orchard Hills Middle School API Rank: Not ranked yet API Growth: 952 Arnold Beckman Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 866
|
$275/SF
|
-21.9%
|
|
Portola Springs (Perfect 10)
|
Stonegate Elementary Schoo API Rank: 10 API Growth: 954 Sierra Vista Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 948 Northwood High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$293/ SF
|
1.4%
|
|
Woodbury
|
Woodbury Elementary School API Rank: 9 API Growth: 918 Sierra Vista Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 948 Irvine High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 881
|
$292
|
-16.8%
|
|
Woodbridge
|
Springbrook Elementary API Rank: 9 API Growth: 897 Meadow Park Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 947 Stonecreek Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 958 Eastshore Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 940 Lakeside Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 933 Southlake Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 916 Woodbridge High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 877
|
$273
|
-6.2%
|
|
Oak Creek (Perfect 10)
|
Oak Creek Elementary API Rank: 10 API Growth: 925 Lakeside Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 933 Woodbridge high School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 877
|
$261/SF
|
-20.4%
|
|
Quail Hill (Perfect 10)
|
Alderwood Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 961 Rancho San Joaquin Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 954 University High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$326/SF
|
-13.3%
|
|
Turtle Rock (Perfect 10)
|
Turtle Rock Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 978 Bonita Canyon Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 965 Rancho San Joaquin Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 954 University High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$295/SF
|
-14.2%
|
|
West Park (Highest Price/SF)
|
Culverdale Elementary School API Rank: 8 API Growth: 857 Southlake Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 916 University High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$356
|
-11.2%
|
|
West Park II (Perfect 10)
|
Stone Creek Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 958 Plaza Vista Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 958 Lakeside Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 933 Woodbridge High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 877
|
$305
|
-14.8%
|
|
University Park
|
University Park Elementary API Rank: 9 API Growth: 909 Rancho San Joaquin Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 954 University High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 908
|
$281
|
-10.8%
|
|
Walnut Village (Perfect 10) (Lowest Price/SF)
|
Deerfield Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 937 College Park Elementary School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 927 Venado Middle School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 927 Irvine High School API Rank: 10 API Growth: 881
|
$259
|
-12.8%
|
Observations:
Walnut village has the lowest price/ sf in the Irvine villages listed about, and has three schools with a perfect 10 API Score. The API Growth Score is good too, but still it ended up at the bottom of the list.
West Park has the highest price/sf in the list, but the elementary school has API rank of 8, and the API Growth Score is not above the desirable 900.
The year-over-year percentage drop was the biggest in Lowers Peters Canyon (West Irvine and North park, North park Square) area, and it has Tustin Unified School District schools with a perfect 10 API, and high API Growth Scores.
Portola Springs saw a percentage hike over last year’s median price/sf, and the schools have a perfect ten API rank and good API growth score. But many other villages are on par with those numbers.
Even though the boundaries of the City of Irvine command better prices in Orange County because of their schools, school boundaries within Irvine aren’t dictating the prices yet.
Would you choose one Irvine village over another based only on the schools? Do you think it is the schools that help Irvine hold the premium over other cities?
Discuss below or at Talk Irvine.
What’s the Asian equivalent of saying, “Gag me with a spoon”?