As England’s World Cup stars prepare for their first match tonight, new analysis reveals where the squad calls home – and where buyers can still afford to live close to football’s elite without paying Premier League prices.
From Cheshire mansions to London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, England players are clustered in some of the UK’s most desirable – and expensive – locations. But the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that just a short distance away, buyers can find homes at dramatically lower prices.
Across England, the average house price is around £268,000, however, regional differences are stark – particularly in areas associated with footballer wealth.
In London, where many England players are based, average prices in Kensington and Chelsea exceed £1 million, making it the most expensive housing market in the country.
But within commuting distance, towns such as Stevenage offer average prices of around £319,000, highlighting a gap of nearly £1 million.
A similar pattern exists in the North West. While players cluster around high-end Cheshire locations, the wider region has average house prices of around £215,000, with places like Warrington sitting at around £253,000.
Tom Simpson, managing director of homes at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Amidst the mounting fun of football fever is a more poignant underlying message – the disparity between the desirable postcodes enjoyed by our England squad and other areas, which illustrates how getting onto the housing ladder can be a real challenge for many people.
“High house prices are making it hard for people to save a sufficient deposit or borrow enough for their desired home, and this combination can make homeownership feel out of reach, even in areas where prices are lower.”
In fact, Yorkshire Building Society research has shown that affordability challenges and access to homeownership remain a major hurdle for buyers. Over a quarter (27%) of UK adults say that saving for a deposit is one of the biggest barriers to getting onto the housing ladder, while many also say they are unsure what a realistic deposit should look like.
Tom continued: “As a mutual lender, we’re passionate about making home ownership accessible for more people, which is why we’ve implemented innovative product solutions like our £5K Deposit Mortgage, which allows buyers to get onto the ladder with a deposit of just £5,000; and Mortgage Booster – which allows a close relative to use their income to increase how much a customer can borrow to buy their own home, without co-owning the property.
“We’d like to see the industry come together to provide even more solutions to ensure first-time buyers get the support they need to achieve their home-ownership dreams. While these dreams of owning might be for somewhere more modest than your average footballer mansion, they are no less important.”
