It has been long considered desirable to live near a Waitrose. This can often translate into higher house values.
However, times are changing and the so called “Waitrose Effect” is no longer as common as it was once. According to new research.
It was discovered that property values are increasing further from Waitroses, as people move from cities and towns during the pandemic.
New research shows that homes close to Waitrose have seen their house values rise by 16 percent.
This is the first time this has happened, TwentyCi, a data insight specialist and property owner, claimed.
It is still very expensive to live near a high-end supermarket.
The average price of a property that was within walking distance of half-a-mile of a Waitrose was £599,000 during the first three months of this year.
By contrast, the average price for homes that were between 10 and 20 miles away from their nearest Waitrose store was £243,000.
The rate of growth is a different story. The prices of homes further from Waitrose have increased by 23% over the first three months of 2019, while those closer to Waitrose have seen their values increase by only 16%.
TwentyCi’s Colin Bradshaw said that while it is appealing to be near a Waitrose, there is a greater need to move away from busy cities and towns towards quieter green spaces.
The pandemic saw buyers race for space as they moved to rural and coastal locations after several lockdowns.
Phillip Stephens of Antony Roberts estate agents said that this trend had nothing to do specifically with Waitrose.
‘Waitrose supermarkets are usually located near town centres, which is also the location of train stations. These central locations are more popular than those in the outlying.
“However this trend may reflect the fact that more people work from their homes and are not traveling as far to work, so they are prioritising greater internal and external space provided by properties further away.
“It is likely that this trend will continue as businesses encourage employees to spend more time in city-based offices. However, this shift in lifestyle will have a lasting effect. It is unlikely that the town center premium will be as significant again as it was ‘pre-pandemic.’
Property values are rising at a greater rate further away from a Waitrose, said property and data insight specialist TwentyCi
This is in line with separate research that was done last month and found that shoppers prefer to be near a Tesco supermarket.
The research by Rightmove asked 2,023 people viewing property online in August what kind of property their dream home would be, where it would be, and what they would want on their doorstep.
It resulted in identifying the nation’s dream home, which also included being by the sea and a pub, as well as having four bedrooms.
It now includes an office, which has been a priority for many workers during this pandemic.
According to the property website, while Tesco beat Waitrose as the most desirable location indicator, preferences vary across the country.
While it found that the supermarket that most people would like to live close to is a Tesco, regional preferences revealed the South favouring Waitrose and Sainsbury’s winning in Yorkshire & the Humber. Rightmove suggested that the results could be skewed because Tesco has more stores across the country.
Waitrose declined to comment when we reached out to them.
