The southern Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank is surrounded by four primary schools that are described as being of "high demand" and "oversubscribed".
Macgregor, Sunnybank Hills, Robertson and Warrigal Road state schools have become major selling points for real estate agents in the area.
Antonia Mercorella from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) said it was common for in-demand schools to drive up house prices in certain suburbs.
"Sunnybank Hills or West End is a great example where there are very well-regarded public schools in those areas and buyers are prepared to pay a premium," Ms Mercorella said.
"Of course, if you have enough of those sorts of buyers it can drive up that median price quite significantly.
"When we see buyers who have children, if you can secure a property that is located within an area that has access to an excellent public school, it can literally save you tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars that would otherwise potentially have to be spent on private school fees."
Sunnybank properties are selling fast and stock levels have not been keeping up with demand, according to real estate agent Adam Scott.
"We did have a distinct absence of stock to supply all the buyers who were trying to get into these catchments — that seller demand has increased slightly but it's still massively outweighed by the number of buyers that are just trying to get their kids into the right school," Mr Scott said.
'Because of the rising prices we can't get anything nearby'
Sunnybank resident Wei Chia has been renting in the suburb for four years.
When she and her husband Matt Wheare looked to buy a house, they realised they could not afford to put down roots in that area or surrounding suburbs.
"We tried Sunnybank Hills, Robertson, Macgregor, we even go down further to Algester and Acacia Ridge and nope, we realised because of the rising prices we can't get anything nearby, so we had to look further," Ms Chia said.
Her daughter Kira goes to Macgregor State School which is a three-minute drive from their current home.
They ended up buying a house in the Logan suburb of Woodridge, so from this year the school drop off will be a drive of about 25 minutes each way.
"I've already warned her that we will most likely be having breakfast in the car," Ms Chia said.
Real estate agent Jacky Niu said the boom in Sunnybank had pushed growth out to nearby suburbs of Pallara and Rochedale.
"House and land packages in Rochedale are selling for up to $1.6 million," Mr Niu said.
That is up nearly $500,000 above the prices he was selling them for last year.
'Now it's more a seller's market'
For sellers in these catchment areas, there is much better news.
Delwyn Farmilo wanted to sell her house in the Mansfield State High School catchment area three years ago, but was not attracting the money she wanted for it.
"2017 was more a buyer's market, whereas now it's more a seller's market," Ms Farmilo said.
She is glad she held on to her property for a few years.
"We've already had people through, we've had an offer, so it's already on, it's going," she said.
