Postcode envy: the postcodes that command a price premium

Postal districts were first introduced in London in 1857. It was only a full century later, when the Post Office experimented with electromechanical sorting machines, that the modern-day postcode system was devised.

NATIONAL ROLLOUT

Initially Norwich, with eight such devices, was selected as the testbed for a system which was rolled out nationally by 1974. Over the next decade, the Post Office ran a series of campaigns to encourage households to embrace and adopt the postcode as a matter of habit.

It clearly worked, as research carried out by the Royal Mail in 2016 found that more than twice the proportion of the population found it easier to remember their postcode (92%) than their wedding anniversary (46%).

Meanwhile, households in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead campaigned (unsuccessfully) to have their SL postcode prefix replaced with WM, to lessen the association with Slough.

The precise extent to which postcode envy affects house prices is just conjecture, but Savills has identified those districts which carry the biggest premium over their postcode area. And that identifies some of the most prized locations. Twenty-eight of the postcode districts in Savills’ top 30 carried an average house price at least double that of the postal town with which they are associated.

LONDON HOTSPOTS

In the capital W8, SW3, and W7 ensure a central London representation at 6th, 10th and 19th place in the nation’s top 30. The geographical spread of locations carrying the largest house price premiums is a testament to the bearing that postcodes have on the perceived desirability of an area - an unexpected outcome of attempts to increase the efficiency of our mail service nearly 70 years ago.

COASTAL CORES

The list contains a healthy dose of desirable coastal postcodes from KY16, (St Andrews) to PL28 (Padstow and Constantine Bay) and other waterfront locations, such as LA22 (Ambleside).

From St Andrews to Padstow, here are the TOP 30 POSTCODES carrying the biggest premium over their postcode district.