Ireland leads the property pack ahead of rugby Six Nations
Dublin the top-performer as cities and towns come back into focus for buyers.
2 minutes to read
With the rugby Six Nations tournament kicking off this weekend (5 February), we looked at the property form of the competing countries to see which is the top-performer off the pitch.
Although the bookies have France, who play at the Stade de France in Paris, as favourites for the Six Nations title, an average price increase of 5.5% in the city in the 12 months to September 2021, means les Bleus only narrowly avoid the wooden spoon.
Instead, Ireland, who finished third in the Six Nations in 2021 and play at the Aviva Stadium (pictured), lead the property pack, with average prices in Dublin up 12.8% in the 12 months to November 2021.
Scotland, who host England on the opening weekend at Murrayfield, are second. The average price of a property in Edinburgh having increased by 11.9% in the 12 months to November 2021.
Defending champions Wales are third, with annual price growth in Cardiff of 11.7% in the same period.
England, who play at Twickenham Stadium in Richmond upon Thames, are fourth with a 9.8% increase in prices in the London borough in the 12 months to November 2021. This is a place higher than they managed on the pitch last year.
Italy, who have never won the rugby competition and play at the Stadio Olimpico, are last with average prices in Rome up 1.1% in the 12 months to November 2021.
*12 months to September 2021
“With the reopening of economies around the world, people have been reminded of the benefits of urban living, namely easy access to amenities and services.
“Locations that also meet buyers’ pandemic-inspired requirement for more space and greenery have also performed strongly,” said Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank.
Outside of London, this rebalancing of demand saw UK town and city sales contribute 40% of total sales in 2021 at Knight Frank, compared with the ten-year average of 37.3%.
It comes as the importance of having restaurants, pubs, shops or entertainment nearby has increased for home buyers, with 51% of respondents to our December survey rating this important compared to 16% in May 2020 during the first national lockdown.
Prices in global cites have come back strongly, with an average increase of 10.6% in the year to September 2021, the fastest rate for almost 17 years.
Photo by Gabriel Ramos on Unsplash