Pubs, Shops and House Prices

What is The Thorold Arms worth to Houseowners?

We all suspected it but our conversation with Rupert Fisher, a Savills Director in Lincoln, confirms that A PUB AND SHOP HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON HOUSE PRICES!

We understand that the pub closure has slowed house sales and reduced prices in Marston & Hougham by at least 10%. Taking an average price as £350,000 this has already cost house owners £35,000 each.

Rupert recently told us:

“I can confirm that having a shop or a pub in a village does make a difference to the saleability of property within that village. If I had a pound for every time a new buyer registered with us and stated ‘I want to be in a village with a pub or shop’ I could have retired already.

Village communities are coming back and it is very difficult to build a community without a central focal point like a pub. In today’s hectic world, buyers would prefer to live in a village with facilities than without, the ability to be able to walk to these things is increasingly important.

[Recently] we sold an immaculate barn conversion in Boothby Graffoe (a village with no pub) and the price per square foot achieved was £141. In the neighbouring village of Coleby (with a pub) we have just achieved £217 per square foot [for a similar property]”.

In Rupert’s example the house with a local pub was worth 50% more than the one without. We are not saying that an open Thorold Arms would have quite that effect! But Marston has a brilliant Primary School – how much more desirable would the area become if there was also a local Pub and Shop?

If you are a local house owner near Marston, how much would you invest to make your property so much easier and quicker to sell and also gain at least 10% on the price you can get for your house?