WE'VE all heard about the Waitrose-effect when it comes to property: prices tend to go up when the posh supermarket arrives. But could fancy restaurants be the new value-adding factor for homes?

New research by Prime Location.com shows that 33 per cent of homes with a Michelin-starred restaurant nearby have average asking prices 50 per cent more than the regional average, while 15 per cent have asking prices 80 per cent more and nine per cent have asking prices 100 per cent greater than the regional average.

And while the delights of three-star chef Heston Blumenthal's chicken liver parfait with oak moss and truffle toast might not be to everyone's palette, a tasty boost in home values will certainly appeal to most.

The best performing Michelin-starred town is Ascot, Berkshire, home to the newly one-starred Cowarth Park, where house prices are 146 per cent more than the regional average.

The Michelin-effect is also felt in the north of the country, where the best performing town is Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, home to the one-star Yorke Arms, where asking prices are 137 per cent above the regional average.

Part of the link between higher asking prices and top restaurants is that Michelin starred restaurants tend to be in desirable locations which attract affluent people, says Jamie Adam from Jackson-Stops & Staff.

"A Michelin-starred restaurant almost certainly adds value to an area because it helps make it a destination," says Adam. "For example, the immediate area around the Yorke Arms – just outside Pateley Bridge – is in a very pretty location on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a stone's throw from Harrogate, which will have a bearing on the inflated house prices there."

Bray, in Berkshire, is home to the only restaurants outside London with three Michelin stars – Blumenthal's Fat Duck and Alain Roux's Waterside Inn – and asking prices there are 42 per cent higher than the regional average.

Just like in Bray, Michelin-starred restaurants are a magnet for further affluence, says Adam. The market town of Helmsley in North Yorkshire, home of the Michelin-starred Black Swan, is a case in point, he says.

It's attracted affluent people to the area, which has led to similar businesses springing up, such as the Verbena Spa and Browns department store. "Helmsley has become a real destination, as have other locations with Michelin-starred restaurants."

But it's not always easy to tell what came first – the restaurant, or the higher property prices.

Tom Cumberland, from Hamptons International, says whatever the case, a Michelin-starred restaurant can make an area more desirable, which is a sweet deal for home owners whatever their palates!