If you’re thinking of buying or selling a house in the London area within the next couple of years, the new forthcoming Crossrail connection is likely to seriously affect the value of your purchase or sale. Properties located within walking distance of the UK’s new high-speed rail network are increasing and outperforming those in the wider area; in fact these homes have increased by an average of 5% since the year 2008 when the Crossrail project was first announced.
This is especially true around Bond Street Station where house prices have risen by 82% across the last six years. This is in stark comparison with Ealing, which saw just a 44% increase in the same period of time.
Transport is Key
This rise in costs is perhaps unsurprising as transport links and availability present themselves as important factors in the property market. This is especially true in the capital where transport is often congested and chaotic. So as you can understand, price performance of property has a clear relationship with increased demand instigated by new transport links.
When the Crossrail is complete it will bring a further 1.5 million people into the London area and only a 45-minute commute away from the city centre. So whilst this rail network brings in commuters from afar and wide, many local residents in the surrounding areas are looking to buy houses next to the associated stations; so that they can share the 45 minute last leg of the journey into the city centre.
Regeneration
It is not just shorter travel times that people can benefit from either, as large projects such as this usually bring large scale regeneration efforts also. This can mean a new shopping precinct with more high-end shops or just a simple addition of some restaurants and cafes. Either way, the areas around the designated train stations will certainly benefit from this movement and therefore so will the local residents.
Time to Buy?
Nevertheless, whilst some areas show sustained outperformance, other areas in central London are yet to catch up. This is especially true around the eastern and western Crossrail lines, where price growth in Southall and Woolwich in particular is lagging considerably behind. This perhaps represents a possible indicator of buying opportunities within these areas.
As experts predict that the area of London will see an 18% price growth by the end of 2018, now could be the perfect time to invest in properties in the area!
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