Hot Manchester for Cold Feet

In series 6 the characters are tip-toeing through the minefield of middle age. The Show not only highlights the challenges of getting older, but also how the Manchester property market has changed in the same period. So how have the characters fared?

Adam

At the end of the last series in 2003, after renting for years, Adam had just put in an offer on a flat, when Rachel tragically died. He left Manchester and now 13 years later returns to find it a changed place. In keeping with the urban city living he has experienced in Singapore, he chooses to rent in the city centre around Peter Street. A similar apartment would command rent in the region of £2,568 per month. A far cry from the rent he would have paid on the Victorian property he

In today’s Manchester, Adam would probably have needed a relocation company. With the city’s population growing year on year and space and supply being very limited, it is unlikely that Adam would breeze in from abroad and secure such a gorgeous centrally located flat. He would have had to stave off numerous other offers from potential tenants as Manchester has become a hotspot for Generation Rent with the future high speed rail links to London and the Northern Powerhouse project, making it even more attractive.

Despite being a single dad and having had to pay private school fees for his son Matthew which would be in the region of £30,000, he has a good budget of around £400,000 to buy in Manchester. So 19 years on he is property hunting again, but not in Didsbury.

He is looking at flats in the Northern quarter of Manchester his landlady persuades him to find a characterful terraced property in Salford, another area of Manchester undergoing a transformation. For the same £400,000 budget he is able to buy a charming house rather than a city flat.

Karen and David

Tree-lined Didsbury has been the backdrop for much of the action in the Show. It’s an expensive area with some of the city's largest houses - home to judges and surgeons – and publishing editor Karen. We see that her and David’s careers have been on an upward trajectory and they have become increasingly affluent, demonstrated by the properties they both own.

Despite a divorce from David she has been able to purchase a gorgeous Victorian semi-detached house in Didsbury. With the average price of four bedroom properties now £543,524 she would have bought at a good time. Not only have property prices nationwide risen dramatically since 2003 but also the show itself has been credited for gentrifying the area.

At the start of the new series, David has a second wife – his high earning divorce lawyer Robyn. and we see the financial power of a high earning dual income couple, in the modern chic property they purchased together. With the average price of a three bedroom in Didsbury being almost £300,000, If it were to be split 50/50, David would have only £150,000 to put towards a new property and would have to curtail his luxury lifestyle expectations and could only afford a one or two bedroom flat in the Didsbury area.

Pete and Jenny

Despite having a lovely Victorian semi, show favourites Pete and Jenny have struggled to find high paying work and job security and are now re-mortgaged to the hilt. Pete is working two jobs, taxi driver and carer, and Jenny is a conference receptionist – neither high paid jobs.

By having taken value out of their property to stay afloat they are approaching later life with money worries. Although there would be capital in their house which would be worth over £300,000 today, they seem to have a large mortgage to pay off without the disposable income to do it, and time not on their side. They may have to consider down-sizing and moving to a cheaper area in the future unless they are able to keep the money Pete inherits.