The one thing that pushes up house prices faster than a Waitrose
04-05-2015
When it comes to giving neighbourhoods a boost, one local amenity outperforms all others, says Judith Woods 
Living near a Waitrose is good for your property prices
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By Judith Woods
Let’s see if I’ve got this right. Living near a Waitrose increases property prices. Close proximity to an Aldi decreases them – although you do save a lot of money on prosciutto and cheap fizz, so that probably balances the macro-budget overall.
But it’s all academic to me as I live near neither. My local Londis, however, sells 16 varieties of local craft beer, organic crème fraiche and two kinds of vanilla essence. Go figure that one out, Mr Zoopla.
Homeowners, the Cappucino Index is back
You see, I live in Hackney, on the northern fridge of Dalston, a place so über-hip and happening that every other premises is a coffee shop with a preposterous name.
Inter alia, we have: Bird; Tin; Look Mum, No Hands!; Mouse & De Lotz; and, my personal favourite, Tina, We Salute You.
At Tina’s, as we the cognescenti call it, a different artist gives the interior a makeover every month. At least I think it’s every month. To be honest, it might be every week. Urgent urban daubings tend to meld into one.
A hipster - flat white not pictured
Besides which, far more central to the charm of the place is that you write your name on the wall in felt tip (don’t try this at home, children). Then, every time you drop by, you draw a star beside your signature.
Loads of stars and you get a free coffee, but it’s the kudos that counts; every star represents a young person’s morning frittered away with a laptop and an air of enigmatic creativity. Who wouldn’t want to buy into that?
My guess is that estate agents should pay a little less attention to old school supermarkets and a little more to the ultra-cool Cappuccino Index.
Living near an Aldi supermarket can take off almost £6,000 from property values, the study found
Quote The Creme Egg is, I discover, surprisingly good when battered.
"The confectionery has melted but remains entombed in its shell. Eating it is messy business, however.
"Once you bite, you shatter the fragile creation, causing an explosion of fat and sugar and I can feel my arteries clogging almost instantaneously."