Every housing market has its idiosyncrasies. South Tampa’s has a lot to do with its public schools.

Few would argue that South Tampa is the most desirable place to live in the entire 3-county area. I mean, right?? Pretty much every resident of South Tampa gets the same advantages, namely being super close to everything that’s awesome. Shopping, eating, drinking, playing, working, sweating, sporting, traveling, culturing―the best of all those things is right here in our little six-mile stretch between Kennedy Blvd and MacDill AFB, or at least, not more than a 10-minute drive away.

But every housing market has its idiosyncrasies, and South Tampa is no exception. There are two school zones in South Tampa. I’m gonna call them School Zone A and School Zone B. According to Great Schools, School Zone A has highly rated schools, while the ratings in School Zone B are significantly lower.

According to a report by the Washington Post, for most home buyers, a good school is more important than a garage or an updated kitchen. And in a survey conducted by realtor.com, 73% of buyers indicated that school boundaries were important to their home search.

To examine the impact on price, I compared available single-family homes in School Zone A to available single-family homes in School Zone B. All the homes in the study were 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom and 1500-2000 square feet.

The average price for a home in School Zone A came in at $552,000 while the average price in School Zone B was $361,800. The $190,200 price difference between virtually identical homes, in some cases mere blocks away from each other, pretty clearly demonstrates the impact of school boundaries on home values.

But this disparity in home values also creates an opportunity for the right buyer. In HomeSnacks’s annual ranking, eight of Tampa’s 10 richest neighborhoods are in South Tampa. So if you don’t have school age children, let’s check out some homes in School Zone B. You could end up in desirable South Tampa for 35% less than your neighbor two streets over!

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa