HOUSING VALUES TIED TO TOP SCHOOL DISTRICTS

* Good school districts help keep the market value of homes in the area high, according to Runzheimer International, a Rochester, Wis., consulting firm.

"It's like owning beach-front property," says William Bainbridge, president of SchoolMatch, a school information service in Westerville, Ohio. "Communities served by quality school districts are least likely to experience erosion of property values over the long term."