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£20K – the premium paid to live near a supermarket

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
27/02/2024

You’ve may have heard of the ‘Waitrose effect’ but now living near a Lidl can boost the value of your home too

Homes within easy reach of a local supermarket are an average £21,512 more expensive than those in nearby areas, according to research from Lloyds Bank.
 
Properties in areas with a Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s or Iceland are most likely to command a higher house price premium when compared to the wider town average. And prices near upmarket supermarket brands can be particularly high.

For example, the average price for properties within easy reach of a Waitrose is typically £36,480 higher than the wider town average (£429,118 versus £392,939).
 
Those living close to a Marks and Spencer have the second highest premium, with properties worth an average of £29,992 more than homes further away, followed by Sainsbury’s (£26,081) and even discount chains like Iceland (£22,767) command a strong premium. Homes within easy reach of all four supermarket chains are trading at an average premium of 9%.

Every little helps

Areas close to budget supermarkets have seen biggest house price rises, with growth of 11% in three years.

House prices close to an Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons or Asda have grown by an average of 11%, or £21,400, since 2014.

This is a faster increase than for all supermarkets (9%) and marginally higher than for all areas in England and Wales (10%).
 
Stack em high

The average house price in an area with a Waitrose store is £429,118 – the most expensive of all the chains – and more than double compared to areas with an Aldi store (£198,810), which is the least expensive. The next most expensive are areas with a Marks and Spencer (£350,263) and Sainsbury’s (£314,154).

Andy Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said: “The ‘Waitrose Effect’ is clear; having a premium brand on your doorstep means buyers typically need to pay top prices. But the research also shows that areas with ‘budget’ stores have, on average, seen the most rapid house price growth in recent years.
 
“There has been some suggestion that the likes of Lidl and Aldi are increasingly locating in more affluent areas where prices are already relatively high. Indeed, in 2014 house prices in areas with a Lidl were, on average, £4,700 lower than in neighbouring areas; today they are £6,400 higher.”