The influence of quality education on the Humboldt housing market

This study was undertaken in order to determine the effects of housing attributes on home values in Humboldt County. A basic hedonic model was created using eight housing variables. An additional model was created using the same variables, as well as school district quality as the housing variable of importance. The results of the basic hedonic model were consistent with the results from the school district inclusive model. The slight differences between these results were attributed to the school district focused data containing a higher proportion of urban/suburban areas. Both results reveal that square footage, the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, lot size, appearance of the property, second units, and number of garages are positively correlated with home value, while age is negatively correlated. School district quality was determined to be statistically significant in effect and positively correlated with a home's value. The resulting standardized coefficient for school district quality was higher than that of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage stalls, and second units. The results reveal that school district quality is a factor in the value of Humboldt County homes and that better school districts have properties with slight price premiums.