Looking For Affordable Real Estate And Good Schools? Who Isn’t?

This home at 618 Candlewood Trail is inside the Murphy Middle School attendance boundaries and is priced at $324,900.

It’s back-to-school season, and it’s crunch time for families looking to score a home inside great school attendance areas. Of course, you’d love to hit the sweet spot where you can get into a great house with tons of amenities that is also inside a great school district, but be prepared for competition.

Realtor.com just released some new stats that rank the most affordable housing markets with the best schools, and Wylie ISD’s Murphy Middle School attendance area made the charts. It followed Chandler, Ariz., in the No. 10 spot as the top affordable neighborhood with the best middle school campuses. Interestingly, though it’s inside Plano ISD, the homes are located in the little suburb of Murphy, Texas.

The only other Texas town that made the list was Katy, with two of its campuses scoring a spot on the most affordable neighborhoods with the best high schools.

“When searching for a new home, finding something affordable in a good school district with family-friendly features, such as large backyards, tops the list of homebuyer priorities,” said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for Realtor.com. “These markets offer strong public schools and affordable homes, making them a great fit for homebuyers with elementary school-age children.”

If you want to score a great home inside Wylie ISD’s Murphy Middle School boundaries, Ebby Halliday Realtor Karen Hallman has the most affordable listing with 618 Candlewood Trail, which is priced at an astonishingly affordable $324,900. It’s an easy-to-love, move in-ready home inside Maxwell Creek with four bedrooms, two full and one half bath, 2,579 square feet, and a two-car garage.

The first thing you notice about this family-friendly home is how the tile floor stretches from the entryway straight through to the back of the home. It’s perfect for families who don’t want to ruin good hardwoods with lots of traffic, but don’t want to deal with icky carpet, especially considering how many times kids will be tracking their wet feet inside from the pool.

Yes, there’s a pool! And would you get this — this place is priced at just over $125 per square foot!

The master bedroom is on the first floor and has tile floors and a five-piece bath. It could use a few updates, but considering the affordable price of this home, it’s not a big deal! The additional full bath and three bedrooms are upstairs, as is a bonus room. It’s a great house for someone who wants to take the guesswork out of moving to the suburbs.

To read more about Realtor.com’s ranking, see below:

To create the list, realtor.com® analyzed ZIP codes within the top metropolitan areas in the country that contained at least one public or public charter school ranked eight out of 10 or higher by GreatSchools. In order, realtor.com®’s top 10 most affordable towns with great elementary schools are: Aurora, Illinois; Stone Mountain, Georgia; Hampton, New Jersey; Royersford, Pennsylvania; Kingwood, Texas; Rosemount, Minnesota; Bowie, Maryland; Huntington Woods, Michigan; Stow, Massachusetts; and Chandler, Arizona.

The monthly cost of owning a median-priced home in these top elementary markets is on average only 23 percent of the median household income in the ZIP, which is on average 41 percent less costly than its surrounding metro area. In addition to offering affordable prices, these markets are home to strong incomes as well, with an average household income of $106,525 compared to the national median of $57,462.

Realtor.com® also looked into the top affordable towns for middle schools and high schools; Aurora, Illinois also topped the list for middle schools while Royersford, Pennsylvania – which made the top elementary list – was ranked No. 1 for high schools. In fact, seven of the top 10 elementary school towns also made it onto the top middle school or high school list: Aurora, Illinois (middle school); Hampton, New Jersey (middle school); Royersford, Pennsylvania (middle and high schools); Kingwood, Texas (middle school); Rosemount, Minnesota (middle and high schools); Stow, Massachusetts (middle school); and Chandler, Arizona (middle and high schools).

In a realtor.com® survey of first-time homebuyers conducted earlier this year, younger homebuyers who are more likely to have young children in the house were particularly interested in living in a good school district. In fact, millennial home shoppers, as well as shoppers ages 35 to 44, cited family needs as the primary reason for entering the housing market, and noted better school districts as a primary reason for purchasing a new home.