Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 62

LONDON

Crossrail

On Track To Outperform
The Greater London Market
BY MIKE SMUTS

T

he tunnelling for Crossrail, Europe’s largest
infrastructure project, is nearly complete but
the long awaited transport upgrade is already
adding massive value. According to new research from
Knight Frank, the price of residential property within a
10 to 15 minute walk of Crossrail stations in London,
has outperformed those houses in the wider area by an
average of 5% since 2008.
“Homes near to the Bond Street station have
experienced the biggest price rises, climbing by 82%
over the past six years, far above the 44% growth seen
in Ealing over the same period,” said the report.
When fully complete in 2019, Crossrail will bring
an additional 1.5 million people to within a 45-minute
commute of the centre of London. In many cases it is
not just shorter travel times that are boosting demand
for property around the Crossrail stations, but also the
large regeneration projects connected with transport
projects such as Crossrail, which tend to lead to a
wider choice of high-end local shops and other new
amenities.
Transport is a key consideration for tenants and
homeowners alike, and this increased demand for
property close to transport links has a clear effect on
price performance.
Such trends have been evident in the past residential prices in Canary Wharf and Tower Hamlets
around the time of the Jubilee line extension in 1999
rose by more than 60% in the four years running up to
the opening of the extension. While other factors, such
as the wider rise of prices in London and large-scale
regeneration of the area clearly played a part, more
than two-thirds of Estate Agents questioned in 2001
said the extension has had the biggest impact on the
property market in the area since 1991.
With London property becoming increasingly
unaffordable for the average first-time buyer, many are
looking a little further afield in an attempt to get onto
the housing ladder. This has seen price increases ‘ripple’
60

MAY 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

out of central London, often along major transport
lines.
As the opening of Crossrail approaches, the increased
connectivity combined with new development can help
feed into even stronger price growth around stations
towards the East and West, especially those which have
underperformed to date, and where housing supply is
set to be delivered in the coming years.

“Transport is a key
consideration for tenants and
homeowners alike.”
Between now and when the line starts to operate from
the end of 2018, the demand for both public transport
and housing will continue to grow, making the delivery
of this new cross-London line a momentous event for
commuters and property investors alike.
Housing stock within 10 minute walkzones

Source: Knight Frank Residential Research/Land Registry *1km for Canary
Wharf Data based on postcode stations

RESOURCES
Smuts & Taylor Ltd
www.reimag.co.za