A lot of people apparently believe in something called the Waitrose effect.
You know the feeling. You’re driving through a town you haven’t visited before in search of that dream home and you come across a Waitrose. Instinctively, you know this must be a nice area. It’s a reassuring sight, a symbol of middle-class approval.
Whether Waitrose makes an area desirable or a desirable area attracts Waitrose is something of a “chicken and egg” situation, but Savills estate agency has crunched the numbers to work out what the “Waitrose effect” means for house prices nearby.
Waitrose even acknowledges that this hype exists.
Nigel Keen, Waitrose director of development comments:
“There’s been a lot of anecdotal talk from estate agents commenting on increased demand and interests following the news that a Waitrose is opening in an area. For example, with the Waitrose opening in Helensburgh, we’ve been told that an Indian restaurant, with a branch already near one of our Glasgow shops has decided to invest here and an existing delicatessen is opening a restaurant in the town on the back of us coming.”
Analysis compiled by Savills compared house prices in the postcode district where Waitrose stores have opened over the past five years to the average for the whole county. Results revealed that house prices near the upmarket supermarket are on average 25% more expensive, with the biggest premium in London at 50%.
Premiums in the North of England stand at around a third, while more rural regions, such as the South West and the East of England have a much smaller premium, due in part to higher average values overall.
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