The Bank of Football Grounds House Prices Review tracks house price movements in postal districts of the 12 football clubs that will be competing in the 2018/19 Premiership. The review is based on data from the Registers of Scotland and Bank of Scotland.

SUN SHINES ON HOUSE PRICES

 When it comes to house prices near Scottish Premiership grounds, Hibs are top of the table with an average house price of £218,734  This is more than double Celtic and Rangers, while newly promoted St Mirren are bottom of the league  Living close to a Premiership football ground could save you over £23,000

Average house prices close to Scottish Premiership football grounds have increased by 14% over the last ten years, according to research by Bank of Scotland. This represents an average increase of £18,285 during the past decade; from £134,518 in 2008 to £152,803 in 2018. However, it is still considerably cheaper to buy a home near to a Premiership football than in the rest of Scotland.

As well as the benefit to avid football fans of living close to their team’s ground, house prices near Scottish Premiership are substantially lower than the rest of the country. Homebuyers can bag themselves a home near to one of the Premiership grounds for £152,803 on average, which is 13% below house prices across the rest of Scotland (£175,866).

Despite being lower than the national average, house prices near football stadiums are on the rise. The 14% increase over the last decade is significant as house prices across Scotland as a whole since 2008 have fallen by 1% (£2,542).

Graham Blair, Mortgages Director at Bank of Scotland said: "Living next to a Scottish Premiership ground will always hold appeal for loyal fans. However some supporters will need to fork out more than others to live near their team’s home ground. For example, Hibs fans will need considerably more than Celtic or Rangers fans for a home where they can hear the match day buzz.

“Football will always be well loved in Scotland, and given that house price rises near some of our Premiership stadiums have far outstripped house prices in the rest of the country, it seems that those who live near the stadiums at the moment could be in luck if they ever decided to move home."

Tables turn for ‘’ in house price league tables Properties close to (), Hope CBD Stadium (Hamilton Academical) and (Hibernian) have seen the biggest hike in the value over the past decade, with

Bank of Scotland Press Team: Name: Chris Tuttlebee Email: [email protected] Telephone: 07850 723 184

all having seen increases of 23%. The average home value in these postal districts has risen by £28,069, £26,479 and £40,897 respectively since 2008.

Areas around Tynecastle, home to Hibs rivals Heart of Midlothian, have seen the next biggest increase with a rise in average property prices of 17% (from £154,054 to £179,718). Homes near to the Tony Macaroni Arena (Livingston), McDiarmid Park (St ) and () have all seen prices rises over the last ten years.

In a change of fortunes, both members of the famous ‘Old Firm’, Celtic and Rangers, have finished in the bottom three of the Scottish Premiership house price table along with newly promoted St Mirren. The Buddies have seen a 14% drop in surrounding house prices since 2008, bringing the average cost of a home near to £86,607. The rivals have also seen a drop in nearby house prices with properties near dropping by 14% to £97,810 and properties near Ibrox falling by 8% to £88,572 in the past decade. These three stadiums are the only Premiership grounds in Scotland where average house prices are under £100,000.

Huge differences in price and affordability of different Premiership stadium areas The postal district covering Hibernian (EH7) is the most expensive area to live in with an average house price of £218,724. This is more than double the average price in the least expensive Scottish Premiership postal district of PA3, home to St Mirren, where the average house price is £86,607. (See Table 1)

The average house price close to a Scottish Premiership ground is £152,803 – 4.4 times higher than national average gross annual earnings. This is below the Scottish average of 5.1. (See Table 2)

Bank of Scotland Press Team: Name: Chris Tuttlebee Email: [email protected] Telephone: 07850 723 184

Table 1: Ten year % change in house prices in postal districts of the 20 team stadia for the 2018/19 season

Year Average Average Opened/ House House Ten first Price Price year % Club Stadium Occupied 2008(£) 2018 (£) Change

Motherwell Fir Park Stadium 1895 120,205 148,274 23%

Hamilton Academical Hope CBD Stadium 2001 113,679 140,158 23%

Hibernian Easter Road 1875 177,837 218,734 23%

Heart of Midlothian Tynecastle Stadium 1886 154,054 179,718 17%

Livingston Tony Macaroni Arena 1995 142,602 164,139 15%

St Johnstone McDiarmid Park 1989 148,284 161,608 9%

Kilmarnock Rugby Park 1899 115,147 123,267 7%

Dundee 1899 116,986 114,068 -2%

Aberdeen Pittodrie 1899 148,879 138,045 -7%

Rangers Ibrox 1899 96,258 88,572 -8%

Celtic Celtic Park 1892 113,221 97,810 -14%

St Mirren St Mirren Park 20091 100,751 86,607 -14% Premier League Average* 134,518 152,803 14%

Scotland 178,408 175,866 -1%

*Average of the Premier League teams weighted against transactions Source: Registers of Scotland, 12 months to May

1 Please note that although St Mirren Park moved location in 2009 we have used the stadiums current location for all data from 2008 to 2018

Bank of Scotland Press Team: Name: Chris Tuttlebee Email: [email protected] Telephone: 07850 723 184

Table 2: Home affordability in postal districts of the Premier league team stadia for the 2018/19 season

P/E Club House Price 2018 (£) ratio

Hibernian 218,734 5.1

Livingston 164,139 5.0

St Johnstone 161,608 4.7

Motherwell 148,274 4.6

Heart of Midlothian 179,718 4.2

Hamilton Academical 140,158 4.2

Kilmarnock 123,267 3.9

Aberdeen 138,045 3.9

Dundee 114,068 3.8

Celtic 97,810 3.0

Rangers 88,572 2.7

St Mirren 86,607 2.5 Premier League Average* 152,803 4.4

Scotland 175,866 5.1

Sources: Registers of Scotland 12 months to May, Bank of Scotland *Average of the 12 postal districts encompassing the 12 Scottish Premiership teams weighted by the number of property sales **Average house price divided by average annual gross earnings for full-time employees in the relevant local authority district

EDITORS' NOTES:

Bank of Scotland’s Scottish Premiership Grounds Review tracks house price movements in postal districts of the 12 football clubs for the 2018-19 Scottish Premiership season.

House price data is from the Registers of Scotland and Bank of Scotland and all price figures refer to the arithmetic average of house prices. The data covers the 12 months to May for the period between 2008 and 2018. These prices are not standardised and therefore can be affected by changes in the sample from year to year. Average earnings figures are from the ONS's "Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings" (ASHE) and refer to the means for full-time employees in the relevant local authority district for each ground.

Bank of Scotland Press Team: Name: Chris Tuttlebee Email: [email protected] Telephone: 07850 723 184

Details of the 12 Scottish Premiership grounds have been sourced from official club websites.

© Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of Registers of Scotland.

"This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive. We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report. Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance." © Bank of Scotland plc all rights reserved 2018.

Bank of Scotland Press Team: Name: Chris Tuttlebee Email: [email protected] Telephone: 07850 723 184