How the UK's top sporting stadiums affect property prices
Posted 17 November 2016 by
Ben SalisburyLiving close to a famous sporting venue can affect the value of your home, but which sports have the most positive impact on house prices?
New research from online estate agent Hatched reveals that homes close to the UK’s most famous golf courses and race courses receive the biggest price bump from their location, with homes close to rugby league venues saddled with the lowest, partly due to the northern location of most of the top teams involved in rugby league. It is the only sport with lower prices than the national average, with the typical home costing £163,508.
Horseracing follows golf. ‘The sport of kings’ comes second, with the average price of properties close to racecourses of £362,000.
The research analysed the UK’s top 120 stadiums and sporting venues and found that golf is the best sport for house prices, with homes close to Britain’s courses costing an average of £419,446, and homes valued at almost double the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) UK average property national average of £219,000.
Out of all the stadiums, properties close to Lords, known as the home of cricket, in north-west London has the highest prices for homes nearby, with an eye-popping average of £1,467,562.
Unsurprisingly sporting venues in the capital fare well. Second on the list is Stamford Bridge home of Premier League football club, Chelsea, where the average home costs £1,232,001. Sandown Park racecourse in Surrey comes third with average homes also going for seven figures.
Homes next to Middlesbrough Football Club’s Riverside Stadium have the lowest prices and along with rugby league, football dominates the lower end of the table and if it wasn’t for the fact that several leading football stadiums are in London, football may have been lower than rugby league and picked up the wooden spoon.
Football does account for four of the bottom five venues but the research found that generally, the capacity of a stadium has a positive impact on prices. The 10 largest grounds have an average house price of £406,571, with the smallest 10 venues averaging just £246,750.
The success of the team playing at a stadium also seems to have a positive impact on prices. Homes next to premier division stadiums for each sport are 84% more expensive than those next to third division venues.
Southern venues dominate the top of the league and it is not until position 32 that the first northern venue appears, Alwoodley Golf Course in Leeds.
Adam Day, Managing Director at Hatched, commented on the findings: “Taking the neighbours into consideration is something all buyers tend to do but how many think about the local sports team?
“Our research shows that it does appear to influence property prices, and in some surprising ways too. For example, you would presume a lot of people would be put off at the prospect of upwards of 40,000 people descending on their neighbourhood every other Saturday but that doesn’t appear to be the case as larger stadiums equal higher prices.
“Similarly there is clear correlation between the supposed traditionally middle class sports such as cricket and golf having higher house prices, while those perceived to be more working class found further down the table.
“The north / south divide runs right through our findings and were it not for the likes of Stamford Bridge and Tottenham’s new Champions League ground, Wembley, then football would definitely be the worst sport for your house price.”
