Higher house prices are good for your health

The latest research from estate agent Barrows and Forrester has found that there is a 348% difference in property values between areas of the UK with the lowest male life expectancy and the highest.  

There is also a 575% difference in property values between the areas with the lowest female life expectancy and the highest.

Barrows and Forrester analysed house price data across each are of the UK based on the average life expectancy of both male and females.

The figures show that in areas with a male life expectancy of 73-75, the average house price sits at just £115,259. House prices climb by 44% to £165,576 in areas where male life expectancy is 76-78 and a further 76% to £291,088 where male life expectancy is as high as 79-81 years old.  

However, in areas where the average male life expectancy is 82 years old or above, property values sit at an average of £516,192. 77% higher than the previous life expectancy bracket and a huge 348% higher than the lowest bracket.  

Where female life expectancy is concerned the jumps in property prices are even higher between certain age thresholds.  

The difference in property values between areas with a life expectancy of 77-79 and 80-82 is still 44%. However, at £119,540 and £172,023 respectively, the average house price is higher than the lower male age thresholds.  

Property prices then jump by 82% between areas with a life expectancy of 80-82 and 83-85 years old.  

In areas of the UK where female life expectancy is 86 years old or higher, the average house price sits at £807,120, 158% higher than the previous life expectancy bracket and an enormous 575% higher than the lowest bracket.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“We’re not suggesting that buying a more expensive home is the key to a longer life. However, the data shows that areas with higher levels of life expectancy for both males and females are also home to higher house prices.

This is no doubt due to several wider influences that come with living in certain areas or with a certain level of wealth. Homebuyers are drawn towards a property based on external factors in a location such as less crime, less pollution, better healthcare. All of which can arguably help boost life expectancy.

However, the result of this high demand in these areas is a higher rate of house price growth, and so it’s no coincidence that higher house prices go hand in hand with a longer life expectancy. 

The good news is that regardless of where you live and what you pay for a property, life expectancy levels in the UK are robust across the board. Undoubtedly thanks to the outstanding job done by our frontline workers in the healthcare sector and the NHS in particular, who make the UK one of the best places in the world to live a long and healthy life.”