Brand disloyalty!
A nearby Waitrose may boost house prices, but which shops have a negative impact? Max Davidson finds out
Estate agents and househunters alike are so familiar with the Waitrose effect that it has become one of the big cliches in the world of property. ‘You can’t go wrong if you buy near a Waitrose.’ someone, somewhere, is thinking that right now as they dither over a house purchase.
a Lloyds Bank report last year suggested that proximity to a Waitrose added a thumping 12 per cent, or an average of £40,000, to the value of a property. starbucks used to be invested with the same magical aura. Good brands equalled good areas.
But how about the shops/retailers at the other end of the scale? Businesses that depress prices rather than inflate them?
some interesting new research by commercial property agents savoy stewart ( savoystewart.co.
uk), in conjunction with journalistic.org, has put the spotlight on some well-known brands which are not exactly a hit with homeowners. By taking 27 towns in Hertfordshire, then matching the retail outlets in those towns against the average property price, the study finds a clear correlation between towns with downmarket or ‘value’ brands and towns with below-average property prices for the county.
If you live near a McDonald’s, for example, you are quids in when it comes to buying cheap meals for the family, but quids out when it comes to living in a sought-after residential area.
tHe Waitrose effect in this survey adds 8 per cent — that is the percentage by which house prices in a town with a Waitrose exceed the local average. the M&s effect equates to 9 per cent. the strongest brand of all is Zaza, the posh Italian restaurant chain, which, it is claimed, adds an astonishing 42 per cent. Just follow the smell of funghi al gorgonzola and you will find yourself in a property hot spot.
But the McDonald’s effect, by contrast, subtracts 24 per cent. Perhaps it is the lingering whiff of Big Macs that puts off househunters. Or just those lurid yellow signs. there are a hundred subtle snobberies at work here.
Primark (minus 23 per cent), asda (minus 22 per cent) and Poundland (minus 16 per cent) — the usual suspects, you might say — have a similarly negative effect on house prices. Great for shoppers on a budget. Not so great for homeowners who want to live in areas that are on the up — and, just as importantly, seen to be on the up.
Perception is everything in property. and nothing does more to shape perceptions of towns than the shop brands which we all recognise, with their signs.
‘the findings were not a surprise to me,’ says Darren Best, managing director of savoy stewart. ‘Previous studies have highlighted the Waitrose effect, but this one indicates an overall High street brand effect which extends well beyond Waitrose and encompasses both luxury and value brands.’
estate agents who know their stuff not only understand that Waitrose trumps asda and why the distinction matters, but also keep an eye out for new stores.
‘the opening of a new Waitrose or John Lewis does not lead directly to an increase in house prices, but it does make an area more desirable, which in the long run can amount to the same thing,’ says Paula Moore, of strutt & Parker in Horsham.
However, a 2013 study by american express found that towns whose High streets had a high proportion of independent shops outperformed towns dominated by chain stores by 17 per cent in terms of property prices.
so if you are running a quick eye over the High street, the best brand of all, paradoxically, is not Waitrose or Carluccio’s, but rather a well-regarded independent name. Which, in a world dominated by retail giants, is oddly reassuring.
DOG lovers wax lyrical about the health benefits of living with their pooches. Now, according to a report from Harvard Medical School, Get Healthy, Get a Dog, they have a point.
The report concludes that owning a dog can ‘ prompt you to be physically fit, help calm jagged nerves and improve the lives of older individuals. Just petting a dog can lower your blood pressure and heart rate’.
No wonder then that retirement developments have been quick to encourage dog ownership, with a growing number promoting dogfriendly properties. In Wadswick Green retirement village in Wiltshire, for example, Anneka Rossiter, 85, takes Bella, her golden retriever, for two walks every day in the nearby woods and fields, where bins are provided for the obligatory little black bags. She believes the walks do her a world of good.
‘Both the walks and grooming provide exercise for me,’ says Mrs Rossiter. ‘I’m convinced it helps my osteoarthritis.’
Mrs Rossiter’s walks bring her in contact with fellow resident Sheila Jennings, 84, who spends an hour a day in the same fields exercising her three-year-old labradoodle, Jendy.
‘One of the other benefits of having a dog is that it helps you break the ice with other people,’ says Mrs Jennings. ‘I only moved in last November and it’s not easy getting to know new people at our age. But I meet up with others out walking and we stop for a natter — all because of our dogs.’
Improving fitness is a major issue in retirement villages.
Two years ago, Steven Schmidt, now 65, and his wife Jill, 67, resolved to get into shape and, living in Audley’s village St Elphin’s Park, in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, they decided to base their fitness programme around their black schnauzer, Ossie.
‘Steven lost a stone in a matter of months by taking Ossie for four walks a day, each of about two or three miles,’ says Mrs Schmidt. ‘The secret is that you can always find a good reason for not going training or swimming. You can’t let Ossie down when he wants to go for a walk.’
Not everybody likes dogs and it is up to the management at retirement developments to decide how far they should accommodate them.
‘Dogs are part of everyday life for many people so we have no right to expect them to give them up if they choose to live here,’ says Lorena Brown at PegasusLife. ‘But we offer communal living and dog owners must respect others.’
Residents also have to be careful to choose an appropriate breed of dog to live with them.
Retired bank manager, Alan Staddon, 82, who lives at Cognatum’s Bearwater development in Hungerford, West Berkshire, has the perfect companion in his 13- year- old chocolate labrador, Harry.
Much though they may love them, many elderly people are put off by dog ownership. So, Sharon Hunt, the village manager at Richmond Villages’ Letcombe Regis site, near Wantage, Oxfordshire, has the perfect compromise. She brings her cockapoo, Dexter, to work.
‘It is informal pet therapy,’ says Mrs Hunt. ‘Dexter jumps in the mini-bus and accompanies the residents on their hikes. She also drops in to the wellness spa where she calms down one of our residents who has Alzheimer’s. Everybody smiles when Dexter is about.’
BuILDING an extension is a messy business. It can take a long time to finish, causing considerable stress along the way — and it’s invariably costly. But there’s a practical alternative and it seems to be catching on. Instead of plasterers, diggers and projects that go way over budget, all you need do is pop a hut in the garden. And not just any old hut, but proper ones built to a blueprint used by wandering shepherds since Tudor times.
That’s what Hugh and Cathy roberts, who live near Burford in the Cotswolds, have done, growing the ranks of people keen to extend their living space, but without hassle.
‘It’s extremely comfortable,’ says Hugh, 62, who uses his 14 x 7 ft hut as an office. ‘I have wifi, electricity, a wood-burning stove, sofa bed and desk. We needed an extra bedroom for when our grandson came to stay, but didn’t want all the chaos of building an extension.’
Modern- day shepherd huts bear little resemblance to their forebears. Top-of-therange, fully-insulated, double-glazed and decorated in fashionable colours — glorified garden sheds they are not.
Shepherd huts don’t require planning permission, but check with your local authority as planning rules can change.
The roberts’ hut has freed up a room in their three- bedroom 18th- century Cotswold cottage. It was delivered in January and they are delighted with it.
‘It fits perfectly with our lifestyle and surroundings. It looks pretty in the garden and, when I’m not working, Cathy uses it just to sit and relax,’ says Hugh.
They bought their ex-show hut for £11,500 from red Sky Shepherds Huts in Oxfordshire. Paul Bennett, who with his son Adam designs and builds the huts to order, says that he has seen a surge in demand over the past year.
‘ We can’t build enough huts. People love the craftsmanship and sense of history that come with them,’ he says.
David Cherrington, 49, who runs The Shepherd’s Hut Company from his workshop in Devon, a business he started 17 years ago, believes the upsurge in demand is down to what he terms ‘the Gabriel Oak factor’.
THere is, David explains, a romance associated with living in a shepherd’s hut. Last year’s hit adaptation of Hardy’s 1874 classic, Far From The Madding Crowd, in which the handsome Oak was seen tending his flock from the sanctuary of his hut, has only increased demand.
‘In the past, such huts were used as dens for children. Now customers want to live in them,’ he says.
David produces bespoke huts for clients, to order. Some come with showers, loos, kitchenettes and hot tubs. Plus, unlike in the house, you can go to town with the look of your hut. A glance at the website, Canopy And Stars, through which you can book shepherd huts breaks, shows cosseting interiors filled with clashing quilts, traditional Welsh blankets, rows of teapots, lively tiling and quirky hooks.
Interior designer Pippa Jameson says that the advantage of styling a shepherd hut is that the decor needn’t chime with your house.
‘ You could have serene white walls but paint the window frames in a punchy mustard or blue,’ she says. ‘Or dress the space as a log cabin with wood- clad walls, furs and a log burner.
‘Create a welcoming, cosy vibe, one that’s full of interest and character. Layer up with beautiful artisan accessories and rich printed rugs and cushions. If you’re feeling brave, you could have a mural on the ceiling,’ she says.
Writer Clover Stroud went full bohemian when she bought a gypsy wagon online as an alternative to a boring office-come-spare bedroom.
‘every inch of the wagon is covered in gorgeous pink and red roses, as well as fantasy scenes of castles, mountains and rivers,’ she says. ‘Inside, it’s wallpapered and there are chintz and lace curtains.
‘I light the little stove before I start work every day. It is my escape from the children. Over the winter I have written a book, a memoir called The Wild Other. Gypsies play quite a big role in the story, so the wagon has proved inspirational.’
Paul Smail took early retirement and bought a small farm. He lets out a 16 x 8 shepherd hut through Classic Glamping, charging between £70 and £90 per night. The hut sits on the bank of a lake with views of rich, rolling exeter countryside.
Completely self-sufficient, with a shower, loo, kitchenette, woodburning stove and double bed, the hut has been such a success that Paul has ordered another for £13,000 from red Sky Shepherds Huts.