The Waitrose snobbery/property price index
The 300th Waitrose has opened in Helensburgh, near Glasgow. Is getting a Waitrose in your neighbourhood the ultimate badge of endorsement?
A lot of people apparently believe in something called the "Waitrose effect".
Take the opening of a branch in the Gloucestershire town of Chipping Sodbury this summer. "Chipping Sodbury property price rise is attributed to the building of a new Waitrose store," ran a local paper's headline. A Sunday Times article had identified the town as a potential property hot spot, adding that "the opening of Britain's most middle-class supermarket can only push values higher".
Citing the "Waitrose effect", one local firm of solicitors announced on its website: "Chipping Sodbury will become aspirational with opening of new Waitrose store." It offered a special "Waitrose conveyancing" discount ahead of the store's opening.
The effect has been studied, by estate agents at least. Savills's research indicated that house prices in areas where there was a store were typically 25% higher than the UK average. In London, there was a 50% premium in Waitrose postcodes.
A recent spat in Dorset's exclusive Sandbanks peninsula pitted a number of locals against Tesco, which is transforming a former pub into a store. "We want Waitrose not Tesco! Howls of protest from Sandbanks' millionaires over 'downmarket' plans to convert pub," ran the Daily's Mail's headline.
Sandbanks Peninsula is famed for its high property prices
Waitrose acknowledges that the hype exists.
"There's been a lot of anecdotal talk from estate agents commenting on increased demand and interests following the news that a Waitrose is opening in an area," says Nigel Keen, Waitrose director of development.
A lot of people apparently believe in something called the "Waitrose effect".
Take the opening of a branch in the Gloucestershire town of Chipping Sodbury this summer. "Chipping Sodbury property price rise is attributed to the building of a new Waitrose store," ran a local paper's headline. A Sunday Times article had identified the town as a potential property hot spot, adding that "the opening of Britain's most middle-class supermarket can only push values higher".
Citing the "Waitrose effect", one local firm of solicitors announced on its website: "Chipping Sodbury will become aspirational with opening of new Waitrose store." It offered a special "Waitrose conveyancing" discount ahead of the store's opening.
The effect has been studied, by estate agents at least. Savills's research indicated that house prices in areas where there was a store were typically 25% higher than the UK average. In London, there was a 50% premium in Waitrose postcodes.
A recent spat in Dorset's exclusive Sandbanks peninsula pitted a number of locals against Tesco, which is transforming a former pub into a store. "We want Waitrose not Tesco! Howls of protest from Sandbanks' millionaires over 'downmarket' plans to convert pub," ran the Daily's Mail's headline.
Sandbanks Peninsula is famed for its high property prices
Waitrose acknowledges that the hype exists.
"There's been a lot of anecdotal talk from estate agents commenting on increased demand and interests following the news that a Waitrose is opening in an area," says Nigel Keen, Waitrose director of development.
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