Make your favourite drama a bricks and mortar reality - house prices in famous TV towns revealed

We carried out a comprehensive market analysis to reveal how much money homebuyers need to spend to live in the same locations as their favourite TV shows.

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“We’ve all thought about upping sticks and moving to our favourite TV towns at some point and with so many top shows filmed right here in the UK, the idea isn’t as crazy as it might seem.

So we decided to explore these locations further. From the not-so-royally-priced lands of Game of Thrones’ Winterfell, to the ‘magnifying’ increase of Inspector Morse’s old stomping ground, we examined the current house prices in local authority areas that serve as the settings or real-life filming locations of eight massively popular TV shows.

Not only that, we also analysed how those prices have increased in the past year, as well as exploring the price increase of each area since their first episodes aired.

Game of Thrones steals the royal seat for affordability

Colby continued, ‘It could cost you more than you might expect, with all but Game of Thrones coming in with a considerably higher average house price than the national average.’

Of the eight locations, none other than HBO’s Game of Thrones took the top spot for affordability. Castle Ward, County Down, which serves as the real-world location of Jon Snow’s fictional home Winterfell, hosted the most affordable house prices with a current average of £186,646. The castle is located in Northern Ireland’s Newry Mourne & Down local authority area. It appears the Starks are as accommodating as they seem!

Inspector Morse ‘endeavours’ to be the most expensive

At the other end of the spectrum lies the city of Oxford, home of the late Inspector Endeavour Morse. Inspector Morse is one of the UK’s most popular TV shows, depicting a cosy police drama based on the Colin Dexter novels. Ranked the most expensive TV location, the average house in this historic city currently costs £482,715.

Inspector Morse also took the top spot for annual price increases, with the average Oxford home now 4.4% more expensive than this time last year.

‘Hitchin’ a ride to second place

House price increases were also a big feature for the fictional town of Parminster in Doctor Foster, also known as Hitchin, Hertfordshire in the real world. Prices in this drama-full TV location increased by 3.4% over the past year.

Closely following was the beautiful city of Bath, home to the bright young things of hit Netflix show Bridgerton. House prices in this gorgeous royal spot have increased by 2.8% over the last year.

From pilots to prestige - house price growth since each show aired

Commenting on these locations in today’s current market, Colby noted,

‘It’s interesting to see that these famous filming locations have all largely held their own in the last year when it comes to house price growth, despite the wider economic landscape. What’s more, they’ve also seen a considerable level of house price appreciation since their respective on screen portrayals first aired.”

Morse once again snags the top spot when it comes to house price increases since the first episode of each TV show aired. When the first episode aired in January 1987, the average house price in Oxford was £51,118. That figure has soared by a massive 844.3% today.

It’s not just Inspectors that are seeing the increase. When the first episode of popular show Doc Martin was aired in September 2004, the average local home cost £180,749. Today in the town of Port Isaac, Cornwall, serving as Doc Martin’s much-loved home of Portwenn, house prices have increased by a significant 70.6%, with an average cost of £308,267.

Close behind is the local authority area around Highclere Castle, Hampshire, which serves as the setting for one of UK television’s most famous buildings: Downton Abbey. The Crawleys’ hometown has an average house price of £358,977, a whopping 70.3% higher than it was when its first episode aired in September 2010.

Other famous TV show locations have also seen huge house price increases since their first episodes aired. Here is a complete table of data for the eight shows we analysed.

The impact of showbiz on the property market

It’s clear there’s a correlation between house price growth and star-studded locations. Even taking into account the turbulence of the current market, the value of these locations have increased exponentially since these popular TV shows aired.

There’s no doubt that pop culture has a huge impact on the property market. After all, the allure of living in your favourite fictional locations is undeniably tempting.

If you’re living in a spotlighted area, it’s always worth undergoing a valuation for your property, especially if you’re thinking about selling your home.We offer a free, easy-to-use valuation tool for those looking for an instant price on their property. Click here to use it today.

Data table

Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here.