House prices near Manchester City stadium soar above UK average as Premier League post codes rocket

By Dean Wilkins

The football season may have Manchester homeowners nearby to Premier League stadiums worried about another year of noise, a weekly entourage of police patrols and parking panic, but at least their home value has rocketed.

Homes near to top flight football grounds have increased 47 percent more on average than houses across the country – with residents near to Manchester City’s stadium seeing a whopping 271 percent increase.

In the last decade, British homes within the 20 clubs’ postal code have increased by 137 percent, or £209,975, on average – compared with a 90 percent increase across England and Wales.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax who carried out the study, said: "House prices close to the nation's most iconic football stadiums have risen substantially over the past decade, particularly in the areas near to some of the newest venues.

“This partly reflects the local regeneration that typically takes place alongside the building of modern sporting arenas, including improved transport links.

"The rise in property values does, however, come at a cost, with home affordability deteriorating significantly over the last ten years for those hoping to live near their favourite football ground."

Homes near to Premier League champions City have seen the biggest increase, rising to £79,098, heightened by the financial investment and long-term plans for the area by owner Sheikh Mansour.

The rise is more than double that of the second-best performing Premier League postal code, as homes near Aston Villa’s ground went up by 126 percent.

Despite Manchester United’s history of domination in the league – with Old Trafford already situated in the more affluent south of Manchester – residents homes still sit 13^th in the overall table as they welcomed increases of 91 percent to £154,145.

Newcastle United finished bottom of the house price table, with the value of nearby properties dropping by seven percent since 2002, the study shows.

The figures below reveal the average price paid in 2012 and the percentage change compared with 2002:

1. Manchester City, Etihad, 79,098, 271%

2. Aston Villa, Villa Park, £97,870, 126%

3. Sunderland, Stadium of Light, £92,435, 125%

4. Swansea City, The Liberty, £114,098, 115%

5. Stoke City, Britannia, £110,719, 111%

=6. Liverpool, Anfield, £63,473, 103%

=6. Everton, Goodison Park, £63,473, 103%

=8. Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, £749,530, 100%

=8. Fulham, Craven Cottage, £749,530, 100%

10. Wigan Athletic, DW, £124,048, 99%

11. West Bromwich Albion, The Hawthorns, £123,104, 96%

12. Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane, £258,891, 95%

13. Manchester United, Old Trafford, £154,145, 91%

14. Arsenal, Emirates, £546,535, 90%

15. Queens Park Rangers, Loftus Road, £473,488, 89%

16. West Ham United, Upton Park, £188,623, 71%

17. Norwich City, Carrow Road, £149,258, 58%

18. Reading, Madejski, £220,423, 56%

19. Southampton, St Mary's, £174,093, 42%

20. Newcastle United, Sports Direct Arena, £127,215, minus 7%

Premier League average, £362,866, 137%

England and Wales average, £229,735, 90%

Here is the average house price and the house price-to-earnings ratio to show home affordability in the Premier League postal districts, starting with the least affordable:

=1. Chelsea, £749,530, 14.4

=1. Fulham, £749,530, 14.4

3. Queens Park Rangers, £473,488, 9.1

4. Arsenal, £546,535, 9.0

=5. Tottenham Hotspur, £258,891, 6.5

=5. Reading, £220,423, 6.5

7. Southampton, £174,093, 6.4

8. West Ham United, £188,623, 6.3

9. Norwich City, £149,258, 5.3

10. West Bromwich Albion, £123,104, 4.9

11. Stoke City, £110,719, 4.7

=12. Wigan Athletic, £124,048, 4.5

=12. Newcastle United, £127,215, 4.5

14. Manchester United, £154,145, 4.2

15. Swansea City, £114,098, 4.1

16. Sunderland, £92,435, 3.6

17. Aston Villa, £97,870, 3.5

18. Manchester City, £79,098, 2.8

=19. Liverpool, £63,473, 2.3

=19. Everton, £63,473, 2.3

Premier League average, £362,866, 10.8

England and Wales, £229,735, 6.8

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