‘Waitrose effect’: St Albans homes close to posh supermarket worth £24,000 more
Permitted development rights are set to be extended in the autumn. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Being close to a supermarket can boost your home’s value by an average of almost £22,000, a new study has revealed.
And researchers for Lloyds Bank found that, if that supermarket happens to be Waitrose, then the property’s price is likely to rise still further, up to an average of almost £40,000.
This seems to be true in St Albans, with a premium of £24,521 added to homes in the vicinity of the Ermine Close branch – a 5 per cent premium.
The average house price in St Albans in the 12 months to March 2016 was £483,643, compared to £508,165 in Waitrose’s AL3 postcode.
The same premium can be applied to properties surrounding the Marks & Spencer shop attached to the BP petrol station on Verulam Road, which is also in AL3.
Not surprisingly, homes close to branches of Waitrose received the biggest boost of any supermarket nationally – 10 per cent on average (£38,666).
The rest of the results follow a sliding scale of poshness, with the next highest house price premiums going to homes near Sainsbury’s (£27,939), followed by Marks & Spencer (£27,182), Tesco (£22,072) and Iceland (£20,034).
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The lowest house price premiums are in areas with an Asda (£5,026), Lidl (£3,926) or Aldi store (£1,333).
Mike Songer, Lloyds Bank Mortgage Director, commented: “Our findings back-up the so-called ‘Waitrose effect’. There is definitely a correlation between the price of your home and whether it’s close to a major supermarket or not.
“Our figures show that the amount added to the value of your home can be even greater if located next to a brand which is perceived as upmarket. Of course, there are many other drivers of house prices beyond having a supermarket on your doorstep, but our research suggests that it is a strong factor.”
The largest recorded premium was in the North West, where the average house price in an area with a Waitrose is £73,629 (39 per cent) higher than in the surrounding areas. The South East average is £31,681.
