Real estate agents say the high quality of schools in Tauranga made buying a home easier for parents. Photo / Getty Images
Real estate agents say the high quality of schools in Tauranga made buying a home easier for parents. Photo / Getty Images
The Greenpark School and Selwyn Ridge Primary School zones are among the most sought-after areas for parents looking for new homes.
Tauranga's real estate experts say home buyers and tenants motivated by choosing a primary school for their children are mostly seeking properties in the Greenpark, and Selwyn Ridge schoolzones.
Others also mentioned include Ōtūmoetai Primary School, Welcome Bay schools, Bethlehem Primary School, Ōmokoroa No. 1 School, Matua Primary School, Taumata School and Pillans Point School.
However, while some parents wanted their children to attend specific schools, real estate agents believed all schools in the city were of high quality, with good reputations, making choosing a home easier when parents couldn't live in the school zone of their choice.
Tremains Bay of Plenty and Waikato general manager Anton Jones said the most common school zone requests from buyers included Ōtūmoetai Primary School, Welcome Bay schools, Greenpark School, Bethlehem Primary School, Ōmokoroa No. 1 School, Pillans Point School, and Matua Primary School.
Tremains Bay of Plenty and Waikato general manager Anton Jones. Photo / File
"Those seem to be the most popular ones," Jones said.
"We're lucky in Tauranga because we've got some really good schools all around."
Simon Anderson, the managing director for Realty Group which operates Eves and Bayleys, said staff received "very strong inquiries for properties in the Greenpark school zone" and also Taumata School in The Lakes.
In terms of secondary schools, not all were zoned but some buyers liked to move closer to the schools to avoid traffic, and for convenience - especially when children had extracurricular activities nearby.
He said overall, people were attracted to an area with amenities, which included good schools, shopping areas and more.
However, the supply and demand of homes in Tauranga was the biggest issue, he said, so a lack of stock in the city meant buyers needing a property urgently were restricted by what was available to them.
Simon Anderson, the managing director for Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys.
Tauranga Rentals principal Dan Lusby said generally, Mount Maunganui was the area most tenants wanted to be living in. Tenants were more partial to being in newer homes, in developed areas, and areas with schools, shopping and bus routes.
"They don't stay empty for long. People are happy to pay higher prices to be in that location."
But when it came to school zones, he said more clients referenced Tauranga Primary School, Greenpark School and Selwyn Ridge Primary School.
Lusby said at the moment the demand for rentals outweighed the supply, which meant tenants often had to take what they could get.
Greenpark School is one of the most popular zones parents want to live in. Photo / File
"People can't be too fussy where they live," he said.
Tauranga Harcourts managing director Simon Martin said school zone requests were not something they had a lot of when buyers were looking for homes. He said most clients had already done their research and knew which areas they wanted to relocate to.
He did not think school zones were as restrictive in Tauranga as they were in other centres because overall, there were no schools people wanted to specifically avoid sending their children to.
"In this town, there are no reports of bad schools."
That was positive for renters as they were unlikely to have choices because of the city's supply and demand situation, he said.
