eMoov looked at each screen stars property type since the year they first graced our screens and how much they have pocketed in value, thanks to the ever-inflating UK market.
Coronation Street
Manchester’s Coronation Street is the longest running soap opera in the world, and not surprisingly, has the longest serving character. Ken Barlow first appeared on December 9th 1960 and has been a regular feature for the nation ever since. A terraced house like Ken’s in Manchester today costs £142,759, a big jump from £1,614 when Ken started on the show. Manchester has experienced by a long shot the largest percentage increase (8746.09%) in property value out of any soap opera in Britain and so Ken is not only the King of our TV screens but also the King of UK house prices where an increase in value is concerned.
Hollyoaks and Brookside
Staying in the north, Liverpool is home to two major soap operas: Hollyoaks and the defunct Brookside. Tony Hutchinson is Hollyoak’s longest serving veteran who has been playing a key role since 1995. A semi-detached terraced house in the city today costs £143,855, while the price tag was significantly lower when he first appeared at £35,577, a 304% increase over a 22-year period. More impressively is Brookside’s property increase for a detached new build estate that would have jumped from £28,383 (705%) since 1982 to £233,331 today. However, the show missed out on a 66% property increase because when it finished in 2003, a detached property in Liverpool cost £140,928 but jumped to £233,331 today.
Eastenders
Next up is East London’s own Eastenders, the South’s best loved soap and a regular on our screens since it first aired in 1985. Since the show’s beginning, Ian Beale has been and remains a familiar face and his terraced house in the square would have cost him around £35,4000 back in 1985. Today that same terraced house will fetch on average, £494,231, an increase of 481% and a far better earner than a chip shop.
Emmerdale and Casualty
Both Emmerdale and Casualty’s longest running characters started in 1986, and therefore, have both seen their property price increase by 420% in the 31-year period. Casualty’s Charlie Fairhead’s semi-detached home in Bristol, close to the hospital, would have cost £59,758 in 1986 but has risen to £310,821 today. However, as the show moved to Cardiff in 2011, Charlie will be sitting on an average house price of £217,116 in Cardiff compared to £310,821 in Bristol.
Emmerdale is set in the Yorkshire Dales in the district of Craven and Eric Pollard has been the longest serving character in the shows history. A detached home in the rural setting cost £64,174 in1986, but today has a price tag of £333,792, meaning Eric has cashed in more than Charlie in the last 31 years.
Doctors
Birmingham’s Doctors has the lowest increase out of any soap on the list. Jimmi Clay’s terraced house bordering the hospital in 2005 cost £112,267 but increased by 31% to £146,898 today.
Neighbours and Home and Away
Life Down-Under has been portrayed on our screen for years in both Neighbours and Home and Away. Alf, Doctor Karl and Susan Kennedy have been on our screens for as long and are the winners not just where the weather is concerned, but also where soap property prices are.
A 3-bedroom house in Melbourne’s Vermont South where Neighbours is set currently costs £603,998, while Palm Beach in Sydney, the setting of Home and Away, boasts a £1,362,056 for a three-bedroom home.
Russell Quirk, rounder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, commented: “It is always interesting to know what the properties of our favourite stars on television cost in relation to our own lives. But what is more eye opening is the increase that these iconic characters have experienced over the years as property values across the UK have increased at such incredible growths.
The tremendous increase seen in the price of Ken Barlow’s Manchester terraced house in Coronation Street is a good example of the importance of getting on the property ladder. Despite the turbulence of his on-screen endeavors, one thing has remained consistent and that’s the increasing value of his property.”
