UK’s favourite soap stars priced out of today’s property market 

Getting on the ladder in this day and age is hard and it doesn’t get any easier in soap land.

 

A new study looks into some of the nation’s favourite soap stars and whether they would be able to buy in their on-screen neighbourhood in the current market climate.

 

Researchers first looked at the price increase of each character’s property from the time they joined their respective soaps to the present day. They then looked at the occupation and average earnings for each character before comparing it to the salary required to secure the average mortgage at 4.5 times the property’s current value less a 10% deposit.

 

Ian Beale has been a firm favourite on Albert Square for years and in the process has held a number of occupations. When he first moved to the square in 1985 a property in the area would have cost £65,000 on average. A 1,042% increase since then means despite his inconsistent professional life, Ian’s sitting on £743,000 worth of bricks and mortar.

 

However, with the average small business owner taking home around £29,000 a year, Ian would be pretty shy of the £148,609 minimum income required to secure a mortgage if he was to buy the same house today.

 

Charlie Fairhead has been in Casualty since 1986 and in that time, the average semi-detached house price in Bristol has increased 982% from £43,845 to £474,225. Despite his commitment to the NHS, Charlie’s modern-day wage of £26,252 means he would be priced out of the market by over £68,000, with his annual income having to hit £94,845 in order to be accepted for a mortgage.

 

Since joining Emmerdale in 1986, Eric Pollard will have seen the price of his detached house in Arncliffe increase by over 2000%. However, if he was looking to buy today, the average income of a B&B owner wouldn’t cut it, with Eric nearly £63,000 short of the £91,937 income required to secure a mortgage and that’s before even considering skip hire to clear out the property.

 

The longest-serving member, Christine Barford of the Archers, would have been on about £54,000 as a stable owner before she retired. Having bought in 1953 for just over £2,000 the price of a detached home in Cutnall Green would have increased by 21355% today! But if she was looking to buy today, she would still be short over £44,000 of the £98,992 she would need to earn to secure a mortgage.

 

The same goes for Tony Hutchinson, Ken Barlow, Jac Naylor and Hywel Llywelyn, who would all be priced out of their respective local markets if they tried to buy today.

 

In fact, just Jimmi Clay would be ok with his GP salary of just shy of £70,000 when securing a mortgage on a terraced house in Birmingham B29.

 

Alastair McKee from One77 Mortgages, which commissioned the study, commented: “Unfortunately for our best-loved soap stars, the cost of getting on the ladder today would see many of them resigned to the rental sector. Luckily for them, they took that first step when prices weren’t as high and as a result have benefited from some very healthy price growth across the board.

 

Of course, this research is just a bit of fun and in many cases mortgage affordability would be bolstered by a partner or spouses’ income, but it does raise a more serious issue. Regardless of property type, profession and location, there is a huge disparity between the price of UK property and the wages on offer and it highlights the struggle facing many aspirational buyers today when trying to secure a mortgage.

 

Character	Soap	Started	Location	Property Type	Average price when first joining	Current Average	Change %
Christine Barford	The Archers	1953	Cutnall Green	Detached	£2,307.00	£494,959	21355%
Ken Barlow	Coronation Street	1960	Manchester M3	Terraced	£1,664.00	£209,985	12519%
Eric Pollard	Emmerdale	1986	Arncliffe	Detached	£21,389	£459,684	2049%
Ian Beale	Eastenders	1985	London E3	Terraced	£65,072	£743,046	1042%
Charlie Fairhead	Casualty	1986	Bristol BS1	Semi-detached	£43,845	£474,225	982%
Tony Hutchinson	Hollyoaks	1995	Liverpool L16	Semi-detached	£30,140	£239,319	694%
Hywel Llywelyn	Pobol y Cwm	1990	Gwendraeth Valley	Semi-detached	£34,599	£145,791.00	321%
Jac Naylor	Holby City	2005	Bristol BS1	Semi-detached	£187,931	£474,225	152%
Jimmi Clay	Doctors	2005	Birmingham B29	Terraced	£123,760	£228,236	84%

 

Character	Soap	Occupation	Typical salary	Income required For mortgage in 2019	Mortgage affordability Gap
Ian Beale	Eastenders	Small Business Owner	£28,759	£148,609	-£119,850.2
Charlie Fairhead	Casualty	Nurse	£26,252	£94,845	-£68,593.0
Eric Pollard	Emmerdale	B&B Owner	£29,203	£91,937	-£62,733.8
Christine Barford	The Archers	Retired stables owner	£54,456	£98,992	-£44,535.8
Tony Hutchinson	Hollyoaks	Small Business Owner	£28,759	£47,864	-£19,104.8
Ken Barlow	Coronation Street	Retired	£27,939	£41,997	-£14,058.0
Jac Naylor	Holby City	Surgeon	£89,392	£94,845	-£5,453.0
Hywel Llywelyn	Pobol y Cwm	Local radio DJ	£24,542	£29,158	-£4,616.2
Jimmi Clay	Doctors	GP	£69,463	£45,647	£23,815.8