Middle class parents are fuelling a stampede for property near Scotland’s best state schools ahead of Labour’s tax raid on private schools.
Properties in the catchment areas of top-performing educational establishments have always commanded a premium price.
But one estate agent has admitted bids for homes in some select pockets have gone off the scale, creating a ‘pretty mental’ property market this summer.
They believe Labour’s promise to slap 20 per cent VAT on fees to private schools will only exacerbate the current property boom as families seek alternative places at the best state schools.
East Renfrewshire has four schools in Scotland’s top ten performing establishments and is where some of the huge price jumps are being seen.
This has resulted in the council area becoming one of the most expensive places in Scotland to buy property, with an average home cost of £339,059.
Kay Blair, director of south Glasgow sales for estate agent Rettie, said: ‘Offering 10 per cent over home report value is now a “given” in some areas.
‘In the prime market, we are seeing 20 per cent above home report. The sale of larger family homes in these areas is almost always driven by the school catchment area.
‘It’s pretty mental at the moment.’
In the last few months, a four-bed bungalow in Giffnock which had been advertised at offers over £750,000 sold for £900,752 – or more than £150,000 above the asking price.
The property falls within the catchment area of two schools in Scotland’s Top Ten, the non-denominational Woodfarm High School and the Catholic secondary, St Ninian’s.
Other homes for sale in recent weeks have drawn upwards of 60 viewers, with some properties attracting as many as 10 offers at a closing date.
It is a similar picture in Edinburgh, which is home to Boroughmuir High School, ranked fifth in this year’s Times High School League Table.
David Alexander, of property firm DJ Alexander, said: ‘We are beginning to hear people talking about the impact of VAT on school fees.
‘Imposing 20 per cent on top of existing fees will set parents back an extra £2,000 a term.
‘But you need to earn around £4,000 extra to clear £2,000 and there are a lot of people now wondering if they would be better off investing in a home with access to good state schools.’
He said high prices are being achieved in the capital’s Blackhall, which offers entry to the highly-ranked Royal High School, which is ranked 19th.
Should significant numbers of pupils cross over to the state sector, the implications for education authorities could prove highly expensive.
Edinburgh has almost 10,000 pupils at private schools and the city council is now ‘scenario planning’ for an influx of pupils should the 20 per cent increase go ahead.
A recent report to the local authority said: ‘One issue currently being analysed is the potential for increases in school capacity which may be required in the future if VAT is added to school fees in the independent sector and this means additional pupils will require to be accommodated in the council’s learning estate.’
In East Renfrewshire, one secondary school is being expanded to take account of more pupils than anticipated expected to attend.
While this is not due to the imminent VAT imposition, extra classrooms are being built at Mearns Castle High School in Newton Mearns due to an anticipated increase in pupil numbers in August of next year.
St Ninian’s High School in Giffnock will be within six pupils of its 2020 capacity when classes resume after the summer holiday next month.
Labour say the funds raised for Scotland by the imposition of VAT could top £150million, which will be invested in the state school sector.
New Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has hinted that the move could come as soon as the autumn statement.
He added: ‘I fully understand the concerns of parents who are right on the edge of that affordability, but this is a policy that’s coming in.
‘It’s the right policy to have and if it’s invested in state education, which is what we want it to be, then it will improve our state education system.
‘The issue about pressure on the state sector is actually the discussion about why we are doing this in the first place, because we need to raise the resources to lift the state sector.’
Lorraine Davidson, of the Scottish Council for Independent Schools, said: ‘We are seeking early discussions with Labour about how to minimise the unintended consequences of the policy, and to discuss how we can build on the valuable partnerships between independent and state schools which benefit all pupils.’