Bubble Bursts On Soap Homes

- Hollyoaks hardest hit as property slump hits the Soaps -

Adding to drug addiction, miscarriages of justice and illicit liaisons, the inhabitants of Hollyoaks can today add another woe to their list as new analysis shows that the village has been hit the hardest by the recent property downturn - wiping over £102,047 (5.53 per cent) off the total value of properties in the village in the last six months.

Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's leading property valuation 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.

Proving that Soap-land is certainly not immune to the recent housing slump, the research found that the residents of Walford have felt the second biggest ripple, seeing the total value of Albert Square decline £97,720 over the past six months. The cobbles of Coronation Street followed, with the street losing £66,511, whilst the Kings and Dingles of Emmerdale have been least affected, seeing only a one per cent drop, reducing the value of the village by £51,077.

According to Zoopla.co.uk figures, in the past three months alone, values have fallen by over 3% on Albert Square (Walthamstow), wiping an eye-watering £13,976 off the price of the average home. Hollyoaks village (Chester) and Coronation Street (Salford, Manchester) are suffering too, with £1,267 and £387 respectively being knocked off the average value of their homes since February. Values in Emmerdale (Esholt, Yorkshire Dales) have stabilised however gaining £572 on average over the last 3 months after a steep decline at the end of last year.

The combined property value of the four leading soap streets now comes in at close to £13 million, down £317,355 from November last year. EastEnders' Albert Square is still home to Soap's wealthiest residents by far 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.

The recent housing market woes are, however, overshadowing the significant gains made over the past few years. Zoopla.co.uk figures show that average values on Coronation Street have risen by 25.98 per cent in the last 3 years, and in Albert Square by £23.58 per cent over the same period. Emmerdale village has seen a 3 year increase of 14.13 per cent, whilst Hollyoaks village has seen the lowest gains of just 13.23 per cent. Cumulatively, over the last five years, the total value of homes in the four leading Soap's has risen by just under £4.5 million (£4,489,381).

Alex Chesterman, Founder & amp;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 past 3 years. Charlie Slater and his neighbours on the Square have seen average value increases of £83,914 over the last 3 years."

"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 everyone from the Hutchinsons of Hollyoaks to the Beales in EastEnders would likely be checking our website daily to keep track of their properties as well as keeping an eye on those of their neighbours."

Source: Zoopla.co.uk, May 08

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Notes to editor

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

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