Keeping up with the Beales
15th May 2008
They may not be Soap's sexiest family but they rule in the property stakes -
Ian Beale may finally have something to smile about - his family home in Albert Square has been revealed as the 'Highest Value Soap Home' by leading proper ty values website Zoopla.co.uk. Despite the recent housing market slowdown, the Beale residence is valued at well over half a million pounds, more than double the average in England of £232,323. It turns out the ordinary café and chip shop owner is not so ordinary after all!
Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's fastest growing property website, which provides free, instant value estimates on any UK home, conducted its analysis of the nation's favourite Soap streets by matching each fictional property to identical homes in the areas where the shows are based.
According to Zoopla.co.uk, the combined property value of the four leading soap streets comes in at close to £13 million. Eastenders. Albert Square leads the way with an average home value of £439,785, followed by Emmerdale at £229,207 and Hollyoaks village at £193,698. At the other end of the property ladder, average values on Coronation Street come in at only £96,341.
Soap-land, however, is certainly not immune to the recent housing slump. According to Zoopla.co.uk figures, over the past 3 months values have fallen by over 3% on Albert Square, wiping an eye-watering £13,976 off the value of the average home. Hollyoaks and Coronation Street are suffering too, with £1,267 and £387 respectively being knocked off the average value of their homes since February. Values in Emmerdale have however stabilised gaining £572 on average over the last 3 months after a steep decline at the end of last year.
The unsettling news in the housing market of late seems to have had little impact as the inhabitants of Walford, the Yorkshire Dales and Chester appear oblivious to the rest of the UK's strife. To date, Coronation Street is the only soap to touch on the subject, with a recent storyline seeing Ashley and Claire Peacock feel the pinch!
The recent housing market woes are, however, overshadowing the significant gains made over the past few years. Zoopla.co.uk figures show that the average values on Coronation Street have risen by 25.98% in the last 3 years, and in Albert Square by £23.58% over the same period. As a result, Eastenders' opportunist Slater family are now sitting on a £460,000 fortune - with a property worth over four times that of Corrie's Peacocks (£106,500).
Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla.co.uk said:
"Whilst the recent dip in the market may be tough on the residents in Albert Square (who have seen average house values drop by £148 per day in the past 3 months), like most UK homeowners, they can take comfort in knowing that their homes have actually made a tidy profit over the longer run. Charlie Slater and his neighbours on the Square have seen the average value of their homes increase by £83,914 over the last 3 years."
The Hollyoaks' beauties have also been working their way up the property ladder with even the unruly McQueens shacked up in a pad worth £282,500. Travelling further north to the Yorkshire Dales, values may have fallen 5.6 per cent in the last six months, however Emmerdale village is still home to some of the most expensive houses in Soap with the dirty Dingles unwittingly inhabiting an idyllic £300,000 countryside retreat.
Alex Chesterman of Zoopla.co.uk continues:
"Some of our favourite Soap characters also happen to be amongst Britain's nosiest neighbours. Zoopla.co.uk is the ultimate tool for anyone interested in the property market, providing free access to house prices paid, current value estimates, local trends and much more for ANY UK home. I imagine Ian Beale would likely be checking our website daily to keep track of the value of his property and everyone else's too."
| Hollyoaks | Emmerdale | Coronation St | Eastenders | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average home values | £193,698 | £229,207 | £96,341 | £439,785 |
| 3 month value change (%) | -0.65% | 0.25% | -0.40% | -3.08% |
| 6 month value change (%) | -1.38% | -5.60% | -4.10% | -4.60% |
| 12 month value change (%) | 1.63% | -0.83% | 0.20% | 3.20% |
| 36 month value change (%) | 13.23% | 14.13% | 25.98% | 23.58% |
| 3 month avg. change (£) | -£1,267 | £572 | -£387 | -£13,976 |
| 6 month avg. change (£) | -£2,710 | -£13,597 | -£4,119 | -£21,206 |
| 12 month avg. change (£) | £3,107 | -£1,918 | £192 | £13,637 |
| 36 month avg. change (£) | £22,632 | £28,377 | £19,868 | £83,914 |
| 3 month daily change (£) | -£14 | £6 | -£4 | -£148 |
| 6 month daily change (£) | -£15 | -£70 | -£22 | -£111 |
| 12 month daily change (£) | £9 | -£5 | £1 | £39 |
| 36 month daily change (£) | £23 | £30 | £23 | £95 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk May 08
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
Notes to editor:
Top 5 Soap Home Values
- Beales (Eastenders) - £597,223
- Truemans (Eastenders)- £587,337
- Wicks (Eastenders) - £502,391
- Kings (Emmerdale) - £465,555
- Slaters (Eastenders) - £462,391
Eastenders
- Average property value - £439,785
- Highest value property - Beale family - £597,223
- Lowest value property - Gus Smith - £247,687
Coronation Street
- Average property value - £96,341
- Highest value property - Barlow family - £114,811
- Lowest value property - MacDonald family - £68,071
Emmerdale
- Average property value - £229,207
- Highest value property - King family - £465,555
- Lowest value property - Betty Eagleton - £120,173
Hollyoaks
- Average property value - £193,698
- Highest value property - Ashworth family - £288,487
- Lowest value property - Tony Hutchinson - £146,463
What is Zoopla?
Zoopla is a revolutionary online publishing service and community website providing information and tools to give users an advantage in the UK residential property market. Our aim is to create a transparent marketplace and we believe that information should be free and easily accessible to everyone.
How did it start? In early 2007, following the success of bringing DVD rental to the internet with LOVEFiLM.com, Zoopla founders Alex Chesterman and Simon Kain realised that the internet had yet to deliver meaningful change to the UK property market. It became clear that consumers lacked essential tools and information to help them understand home values, view similar properties, learn about past transactions...
...and then we thought:
- Why not offer users a tool to get access to FREE, instant value estimates on their homes or anyone else's?
- Why not let buyers make offers on ANY home, instead of just the 4 per cent of homes currently on the market 'for sale'?
- Why not let owners find out if there is any market interest in their homes without having to list them 'for sale'?
- Why not let agents and sellers market their 'for sale' listings FREE by providing them with easy-to-use tools?
- Why not let anyone ask/answer questions and share their knowledge about any homes or neighbourhoods?
- Why not put current value estimates, sold prices, homes for sale and local information all together in one place?
So, we have started by providing FREE value estimates and sold prices on homes, allowing sellers and agents to list homes for sale FREE, and letting all users edit information and upload photos. We have also launched some unique features, like TemptMe™ and AskMe™, which allow users to gain an insight into the market and discover information they won't find anywhere else.
By making TemptMe™ offers, buyers can try to entice owners to consider selling. Owners also benefit from this unique feature by being able to see what level of interest there is on their home without actually having to list it for sale.
The AskMe™ community feature allows anyone to find out more about any home or neighbourhood that they are interested in by posting questions for those in the know to answer.
Zoopla value estimates are calculated using a proprietary algorithm (secret formula) that we have developed by analysing millions of data points relating to property sales and home characteristics throughout the UK. The algorithm works by comparing relationships between home prices, economic trends and property characteristics in given geographic areas. Our estimates are constantly refined by our team of analysts, using the most recent data available and a variety of statistical methodologies, in order to provide the most current information on any home.
Zoopla Limited is a privately held company, backed by leading international venture capital firm Atlas Venture.