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Jocelyn Gould Turken and her husband are looking for a new home. Not only do they need more space, but for them it's all about location, location, location. They want to position themselves near select public schools.

"I am looking for a place that can fit us and has great public schools. Private schools are very expensive and it's expensive enough to live here. To have a great public school and not have to put out $40,000 or $30,000 a year is very important to us. Otherwise we would have to leave Manhattan," said Gould Turken.

Jocelyn is not alone. School districts have always been a big factor for buyers, but Max Dobens of Prudential Douglas Elliman says now he has more clients who have placed a school district higher on their priority list, especially now that the cost of private schools may be harder to swallow.

"I have a buyer looking on the Upper West Side and he said to me I want to be in this neighborhood because it saves me $30,000 a year after taxes if I go to the good public school. So that's a selling point for him to be in one of those schools," said Dobens.

Not only is he a broker, but Dobens just went through the school selection process with his own kids and found firsthand that the competition at high ranking public schools is increasing.

From a real estate perspective, this is generating a lot of competition in certain neighborhoods. Some say it's good for the market, but others may fear it will lead to an increase in class size. Residents living outside of a district who apply for variances to attend those schools are also finding it even harder to get in.

While more and more buyers are focusing on certain school districts, developers in those areas are benefiting from the trend.

For example, the developer of 255 East 74th Street, a brand new luxury condo on the Upper East Side, is finding their proximity to certain schools is boosting sales.

"Within a 15 to 20 block radius there are over 90 different schools here. We knew this would be an added value to our purchasers which has resulted in families closing on 80 percent of our units to date," said Worldwide Group Sales Marketing Director Richard Lebow.

That says a lot in a down economy.

As for Jocelyn, she's not worried about the competition. She feels the more people interested in our public schools, the better.

"My feeling is the more people that are in public school that are concerned about education, the better the public schools are going to be forced to me. So it can only be a good thing," said Gould Turken.