Analysis from property platform Cotality shows buyers are willing to pay significantly more to access high-performing schools, even though comparable homes just outside the catchment often deliver better capital gains.
The research compared nine school catchment clusters across Sydney and Melbourne and found seven had higher median house values compared to out-of-catchment homes.
Six of the catchments recorded lower capital growth in the past 15 years.
Cotality head of research Eliza Owen told AAP higher premiums for homes in school catchments were not surprising but it was interesting most had lower capital growth over time.
"It depends on the personal preference, but there are definitely some benefits to buying and paying a premium for a good public school catchment area," she said.
"In some of the most in-demand school zones, families are paying hundreds of thousands and in one case more than a million dollars, more for a house compared to similar houses outside the boundary."
The largest price gap was in Sydney's North Shore, where homes in the combined catchments of Killara High, Willoughby Girls and Lindfield Learning Village held a median value almost $1.3 million more than homes nearby but outside the catchment.
But houses outside the catchment recorded lower long-term growth of 126 per cent in the past 15 years, compared to 150.3 per cent in neighbouring markets.
In Melbourne, the premium for homes in the catchments of Princes Hill and University High School reached $357,000, though capital growth was weaker than in surrounding suburbs.
This was not the case across the board however, with the report finding school catchment zones that were cheaper.
Ms Owen said being near a good school did not exactly translate to higher prices.
She noted homes in the catchment for Cherrybrook Technology High School, in northern Sydney, which were priced at $155,000 less than comparable properties outside the zone in the same suburbs.
"The (school) has been around for a long time, lots of students, lots of facilities, and it's got this reputation for driving housing demand and values," Ms Owen said.
"But if you look at the broader Hills District in which the school is situated, a much higher portion of kids in that broader area are going to private schools.
"Maybe that's why there's not as much of a premium in that catchment relative to the out-of-catchment markets."
Ms Owen emphasised the premiums in some school catchment zones could also reflect other factors such as proximity to train stations, or the high incomes of those living within the area.
