Keeping up with the Beales
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 [email protected] 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
About Zoopla
Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.
We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.
Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.
Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.
And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.
But we know you're looking for more than that.
Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.
It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.
That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.
And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.
We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).
What really matters is how it makes you feel.
We know what a home is really worth.
So let us help you find yours.
Zoopla is part of Zoopla Limited which was founded in 2007.
Zoopla Limited, The Cooperage, 5 Copper Row, London, SE1 2LH Registered in England and Wales with Company No. 06074771 VAT Registration number: 191 2231 33 Data Protection number: Z9972266