House prices rocket near Premier League grounds
If any more proof were needed that we're a nation of football obsessives, research has revealed that average house prices close to Premier League football grounds have shot up by 129% over the last ten years.
According to the Halifax, the average house price in the surrounding postal districts of the 20 clubs contesting the Premier League for 2014/15 is now £329,520 - a third higher than the average for the whole of England and Wales. The 129% increase in the last decade is more than double the average across England and Wales for the same period.
"With the Premier League hailed by many as the best in the world, for many clubs some of this success also seems to have rubbed off on the surrounding areas," says Halifax mortgage director Craig McKinlay.
"In the last decade average house prices immediately outside some of the country's leading clubs have seen price rises that far outstrip the rest of the country."
Need a mortgage? Get a quote
Biggest winners
The biggest increase in value have been seen in homes close to Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, where the average home value has risen by 150% over the decade rising from £39,193 in 2004 to £98,178 now.
The area around Hull City's KC Stadium has done almost as well, with a rise in average property prices of 123% to £72,535. Meanwhile, the third biggest rise is for prices around Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground, up 121% to £959,522.
However, properties close to the Newcastle United ground fared less well, with the average value falling by 22% between 2004 and 2014. This was the only stadium to record a decline.
Need a mortgage? Get a quote
Most affordable
For those determined to live close enough to hear the roar of the crowd, the postal district L4 – home to Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs – is the most affordable, with the price of a typical home just over double gross annual average earnings.
Chelsea is the least affordable Premier League district, with the average property price of £959,522 being more than eighteen times gross average earnings in the area. Overall, says the Halifax, Premier League homes cost nearly 10 times average annual earnings.
"There is no rule governing why some areas have seen greater price rises than other. Some areas – but not all – have benefited from clubs moving to a new stadium and all the infrastructure improvements which are associated with this," says McKinlay.
"And neither is success on the pitch a guaranteed boost to house prices either, with only two of the top five areas being able to boast Premier League winners in the last ten years."
Read more on AOL Money:
Buyers take 33 mins to choose a home
Revealed: the town where house prices are rising fastest (and it isn't in London)
Who would pay £1 million for a London bedsit?
