We found that the value of more than two thirds of homes on the doorsteps of the Premier League’s stadiums has soared above the national average, with Arsenal’s Emirate’s stadium achieving the greatest year-on-year rise, nicking top spot in out ‘alternative football league’.
According to analysis of Land Registry data, homes which share the same postcode as the Gunners’ 66,432-seater stadium in Highbury, north London, have witnessed an average increase of 16.1 per cent from £734,124 in 2016 to £862,995 at the start of the 2017/18 Premiership season – a massive hike of £128,871. That compares to the national average of just 1.3%
People living near West Ham United’s London Stadium, in Stratford, have seen prices surge by 14 per cent – or £74,825 – since last year, when the club moved into the former Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Premiership newcomers Huddersfield, who were promoted to England’s top league last season, claimed third spot in the league, with prices in the same postal district as the Terriers’ John Smith’s Stadium up 12.6 per cent from £107,641 to £122,182.
Property in the same postcode at Tottenham Hotspurs’ White Hart Lane ground – which is undergoing a massive redevelopment this season - rose by 10.4 per cent, while homes surrounding the Amex Stadium in Brighton, and Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground in swanky West London, saw annual house price inflation of 8.6 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
Higher than average property prices were also recorded in addresses surrounding six other teams’ grounds’ according to the analysis. Areas where house prices have increased year-on-year above the 1.3 per cent national average are; Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, Newcastle’s St James’s Park, Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, Watford’s Vicarage Road ground and the bet365 Stadium, home to Stoke City.
In the relegation zone sits Southampton, where property prices near the football club’s St Mary’s stadium dropped by 6 per cent, and the L4 postcode – home to Liverpool’s Anfield ground and Everton’s Goodison Park – wallowing at the bottom of the league, with the area having seen the value of homes drop by 8.8 per cent.
What we have seen over the past few years is that the building of new stadiums has been the catalyst for community regeneration as billions of pounds have been invested into local communities, with better transport links, shopping and leisure facilities.
It is also interesting that, whereas a decade ago the highest property price rises were exclusively in postcodes around the London grounds, with clubs in the capital occupying all of the top six league places, our most recent analysis shows places such as Huddersfield and Brighton climbing up the table.
Overall we’ve seen prices creep up in areas around clubs in the north such as Manchester United and Newcastle, so it seems like buyers and investors are looking at other places than London, where property prices may prove more affordable.
