This is part 2 of The Data Deal, a series that helps guide professionals through the process of choosing the best data vendor resource for their business by offering questions and qualities prospects should look for in their data vendor.

40% of home buyers today have school-aged children and home buyers overall will pay $50 more per square foot to belong to a well-ranked school district. A decision of which community to move to and how much a home shopper is willing to pay may hinge solely on the quality of local schools.

Because your home shoppers care about schools, you want to supply them with the most accurate, up to date, and expansive School Data. However, what is it you should be asking school data vendors? What is it home shoppers value most when it comes to school data?

Here are a few critical questions you should ask when contemplating which school data vendor is best for your business:

Do you offer school data?

Schools are incredibly important to your customers. Of all the local data that influence a buyer's purchase decision, proximity to good quality schools is one of the most influential. 25% of home buyers listed school quality and 19% listed proximity to schools as deciding factors in their home purchase, according to a 2012 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.