If you live near a farmers’ market, you could be quids in (unless you buy the leeks, that is), as homes near to these old-but-new phenomena can go for up to £90,000 more than homes tacked onto a regular supermarket.
Property portal Zoopla recently found that the more popular markets pushed up selling prices by an average of £87,180, or 26%, compared to the wider area.
Farmers’ markets – what’s the beef?
Farmers’ markets tend to be held at weekends and they sell locally-produced, fresh, artisanal and seasonal food, usually from local smallholders and organic farms. Sometimes they’re tented affairs, sometimes they move into established marketplaces for the day.
Popular in London, Manchester and the Home Counties for a few years, they’ve become insanely popular all over the country now and the FM-effect seems to chime in with the Waitrose effect that we already know about. These markets give people the chance to support local smallholders and farmers, as well as to get some great produce, reduce their carbon footprint and to meet up with friends.
How much?
You might find yourself yelping that very phrase after you get charged almost £7.00 for a pumpkin, but the good news is that that farmers’ market will have a big effect on your selling price.
It’s not the market alone, though; it’s more that the presence of a farmers’ market signifies lots of other things. You’ll expect to find young families, wealthy young professionals and certainly an up-and-coming (if not already arrived) area.
If anything, the FM-effect is more marked than the Waitrose effect, which adds a mere £40,000 to asking prices. In fact, any supermarket chain can add at least £20,000, so do make sure to highlight any amenity of this sort. Half of UK buyers say they need a major retailer within walking distance, so if you’ve got that and a regular farmers’ market, you’ve got it made.
