This is not a boy meets girl story. Instead, it’s a boys-meets-football club, fall in love and turn a small community into an international destination.
The guys in question are X-Men and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and fellow American actor Rob McElhenney – and the community is Wrexham, where Rightmove says house prices have risen 16 percent since mid-2020 thanks to this unfolding fairytale.
Reynolds and McElhenney paid £2 million for the company when it was at its lowest point, but on Saturday the club was promoted to the National League, ending a 15-year spell out of the league.
Yet the actors have not stopped there, investing instead in time and publicity that have proven to be far more valuable to the 65,000 residents of Wrexham who live between the Welsh mountains of the Dee Valley and close to trendy Cheshire across the border. live in England.
On the rise: Wrexham in North Wales benefits from affordable housing in the heart of the town
They are not your typical super-rich club owners who sit in a faraway country and treat their investment like a cash cow.
Instead, they created the docuseries Welcome To Wrexham on Disney+ and insisted that Netflix add Welsh-language subtitles for films in which they star.
They also helped party when Wrexham was designated a city and won an award for promoting Welsh culture.
Of course they also sprinkled some stardust. For example, legendary Elf and The Lego Movie star Will Farrell popped in for a pint and chatted with the locals at the Turf pub, close to the club grounds, as a guest of Reynolds ahead of a crunch match.
“Reynolds and McElhenney have shaken up the city and put the area outside Wales on the map,” said Adam Palmer, deputy director at the local Strutt & Parker firm. “You can’t walk far without hearing someone talk about it.”
He adds: ‘A significant proportion of the housing stock in Wrexham is under £500,000 and there’s no denying that you get a lot more for your money than in the well-known neighboring towns such as Chester.’
Analysis of the local market by another agency, Belvoir, shows that the average price of a house in Wrexham is £192,914.
Star quality: Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds (right) and Rob McElhenney (left) bought Wrexham FC in 2021 for £2 million. The team has now won promotion to the football league
Typical detached houses fetch just under £310,000 and terraces £140,000; a flat can be yours for less than £110,000.
The town center has two indoor markets and also a weekly outdoor market. Close to the new Explore science museum is the Toast cafe and deli, voted the best in Wales earlier this year.
Local estate agents say this is one of the few cities in the UK where living in the center remains very affordable. For example, you could buy a two bedroom terraced house a short walk from the shops for £130,000.
Just north of the town centre, a four bedroom family home in an exclusive modern development close to local schools costs £550,000.
Alternatively there is a choice of unspoilt rural communities on the outskirts. ‘South of Wrexham is the pretty village of Overton, with the River Dee on your doorstep and you’re also not far from Erddig Parkland National Trust,’ says Adam Palmer.
But it is the nearby village of Marford that has been the center of speculation.
There is a lot of talk about Ryan Reynolds apparently thinking about buying a house close to the village’s two pubs, the Red Lion and Trevor Arms.
It is a community known for its mix of Gothic architecture and new construction homes. Real estate firm Fisher German calls the area “Millionaire’s Row.”
There are inevitably downsides to this new-found fame. Game day rowdy at the local McDonald’s led the restaurant to play classical music to de-stress customers, and the local press has warned of naysayers about increased footfall and increased traffic.
If you want to experience some of the action, you’ll have to be quick. Local agents say the spring sales season is off to a good start – and each Wrexham home win is fueling renewed interest in the area.