Back to School with New Data from RPR

Almost half of all homebuyers with children under 18 years of age say the local school district is a major factor when searching for a home and neighborhood, according to the 2017 Moving with Kids report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

According to the data, 49 percent of homebuyers rated "quality of schools" as more important than affordability or convenience to shopping, even proximity to family and friends. That's up 25 percent from a similar NAR study conducted in 2015.

And nearly 90 percent of those buyers worked with a REALTOR®.

The report's findings bode well for agents who use Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®), the nation's leading aggregator of real estate data. The platform announced it has partnered with Niche®, the industry's fastest-growing school data provider.

The new data-rich content provides REALTORS® with in-depth knowledge of schools that can be leveraged to help buyers seeking homes in good school districts. The changeover––from GreatSchools––introduces new data elements as well, including teacher, academic, overall school grades; and school district side-by-side comparisons, among others.

NAR's research also connects the dots between school-seeking homebuyers and their preferences for agent-client communications. By equal measure, 75 percent of those surveyed with children under 18 years of age in the home prefer a personal phone call from an agent and instant notifications on new listings. Sixty-four percent want that information via text.

Communication with Agent

Again, good news for RPR users. The platform's school report can be created and transmitted via email or text within a minute or so either through its website or mobile app. Agents can search for schools within 5 miles of a location—by city/state, school, or district name, and even by type of school (elementary, middle or high school).

What you get is a complete picture of a client's preferred school or district, including up to 20 nearby properties for sale.

RPR is offered exclusively to REALTORS® as a member benefit. Login today to check out Niche in action at narrpr.com. For more on schools and RPR data/reports, visit their blog.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.