How has gentrification changed values on areas in Monopoly?

Finding the right services to manage your assets can be tough. It could also cost you a pretty penny. However, neither has to be the case. You can choose a first rate service with Finefair Ltd and the local council to avoid both. We excel here, making it easy to find reliable property management in Islington and other locations across London.

When you think of board games, Monopoly is probably the first to come to mind. It was initially published in 1935, based on the earlier Landlord’s Game from 1903. Today it has sold hundreds of millions of copies and features all kinds of different themes.

The impact of gentrification

Property management IslingtonIt is interesting to look at the classic Monopoly board today with all of its locations in London. The original ranking of their value is shocking when you look at real world prices now. Many of the cheap areas would be much higher up the board due to gentrification and a change in buyer attitudes.

What we want to do is take a look at some of these areas to see how much homes would cost today. Some of the increases in value are shocking.

Old Kent Road

The cheapest area on the board made it very easy to buy the square and then build houses and a hotel on it. However, the area in Southwark is not as accessible today. In 2022 the average sale price for housing was £490,636. Flats were slightly more affordable at £425,847, but terraces (£744,343) and semi detached homes (£731,786) were far more valuable.

Whitechapel

The other brown square on the board had the same price, making it just as cheap to buy and upgrade. But, the real world scene is much different. The average sale price from 2022 was £652,500. This was a huge 47% rise in just a year and took values to a new record high, 6% above the previous peak from 2011.

The Angel, Islington

As we said above, we can arrange fantastic services for guaranteed rent in Islington. As a result, we know a lot about the area. The Angel is not actually a street, it is a landmark building formerly a pub. It is located on Upper Street. While on the original board this was the next cheapest area, today the values are incredible. At the lower end properties in 2022 sold for around £700,000. However, terraces average at over £1.71million. Semi detached homes are even more valuable, averaging at over £1.86 million.

Euston Road

Today Camden is one of the most popular and valuable areas of London. That is a big change from its place as one of the cheaper areas on the original Monopoly board. The average price of a home here in 2022 was £847,500. However, lots of properties easily exceed the £1m mark.

Pentonville Road

The final light blue square was the most expensive in the original game. However, today it would be the cheapest by a long way. The average house price in 2022 was £576,250.

Pall Mall

The pink squares have seen some of the most incredible increases in values. While still affordable in the game, buying real world property would cost you over £1m for a flat. There are previous apartment sales from 2017 for over £4.7m. Properties don’t become available very often here, so they command high prices.

Whitehall

Today the City of Westminster is one of the most expensive areas to buy property. The average in 2022 was over £1.6m. The value of terraces was higher at over £3.2m and semi detached homes broke the £6m mark. Buying a home in Whitehall today is hard for the majority of people.

Northumberland Avenue

The final and most expensive pink square retains its title as the most valuable spot of the three today. However, it would be much closer to the top of the board if you rank all spots by 2022 values. While homes don’t sell very often here, they can command several million. There is one property on the market for over £14.9m.

Talk to us about property management in Islington

These are just a few of the areas that have seen a big change in values, primarily because of gentrification and becoming locations where sales are rare. A Monopoly board today would need a number of new areas to fill the cheapest spaces. The most valuable spots would also be very different.

Even with such a big change in prices though, London is a great spot for investing. Finefair Ltd can help with this. We can arrange a number of excellent services. Thanks to agreements with local councils, we can offer things like guaranteed rent, leasing, management, and more.

So, if you need help with property management in Islington, whether around the Angel and Upper Street or other spots, we can help. Get in touch to learn more.