Home owners in Albert Square are quids in

House prices on Albert Square have sky rocketed over the past 25 years, with a 436% increase taking the average house to £574,764, compared to £122,813 in 1985 when the soap began according to property portal FindaProperty.com.

This house price inflation has outperformed the most popular purchase on the Square, with the cost of a pint in the Queen Vic increasing just 206% over the same period, from 93p to an average £2.83 today.

Properties on the Square, which celebrates its 25th anniversary today, are 515% more expensive than in rival soap Coronation Street. While Eastenders has the most expensive houses, it is Coronation Street that has seen the biggest house price appreciation in the time the TV soap has been running. The Street, which turns 50 this year, has benefited from house price inflation of 7369%, with the average house in 1960 costing just £1,514 compared to today’s average of £111,581. Ken Barlow, the only resident of the Street to have survived the last half century will be rubbing his palms in glee.

According to the findings, former prostitute Pat Evans has the most expensive house on the Square, with number 31 valued at £847,821. The tardis-like property currently houses seven people; Pat Evans, Ricky Butcher, Bianca Jackson and her children Whitney, Liam, Tiffany and Morgan. The house was left to Pat in the will of her former employer, gangster Andy Hunter.

Nigel Lewis, property expert at FindaProperty.com, commented:

“The East End of London, once home to more unsavoury types such as Jack the Ripper and the Krays, has become increasingly more desirable of late. Attracted by the convenient location and the more affordable house prices compared to West London, City workers have drifted further East and parts of this location have now been gentrified with trendy clubs, wine bars and restaurants. Addresses like Albert Square remain sought-after places to live for the sense of community enjoyed by the residents, in addition to easy access to local amenities and transport links.

“The characters in Albert Square are certainly sitting on a profitable asset. Coronation Street may have won in the National TV awards, but the east enders are winning in the property stakes, with house prices set to increase further still with the knock-on effect of the 2012 Olympics.”