Houses close to stations which are to be served by London's new Crossrail route are already seeing a price boost of more than a fifth on average, according to research by Lloyds Bank published today (5 December).
Those homes near future Crossrail stations have seen an average increase of 22 per cent over the past two years in anticipation of the new line.
The Elizabeth Line will begin operating in May 2017, although the full service stretching from Reading in Berkshire to Shenfield in Essex will not be operational until December 2019.
Prices have risen from £344,242 in 2014 to £420,798 in 2016, compared to an average 14 per cent growth for surrounding local authority areas and a 13 per cent rise for Greater London.
From the 33 stations surveyed along the route, 28 have seen average house price growth for homes in the same postcode sector outpace the average house price growth for the surrounding local authority areas - 14 per cent - over the past two years.
Homes in Abbey Wood and Forest Gate, which are both to the east of London, have seen the biggest prices increases.
Abbey Wood is up 47 per cent from £197,077 to £288,789, whilst Forest Gate has increased by 46 per cent from £330,680 to £483,362.
West Drayton has also seen values climb by 46 per cent from £249,790 to £363,849.
Towards the west of London, homes in the Burnham area have seen their average house prices jump by 40 per cent, followed by Slough at 34 per cent and Maidenhead at 32 per cent.
All of the increases have outpaced the 15 per cent house price growth for the South-East region as a whole over the past two years.
On the new route the most expensive area is Paddington, where the average house price is just over £1m.
Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage products director, said: “Crossrail promises to connect towns in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to Essex and south-east London, via the centre of the capital, by offering a frequent and fast service which will integrate with the existing Underground network.
"This will clearly prove attractive to many commuters, as the new service will make it much easier to reach key destinations such as the City of London, Canary Wharf and Heathrow Airport.
“Even though we’re still three years away from the launch of the full service, the Crossrail effect is already having a positive impact on house prices near stations on the Elizabeth Line. It will be interesting to see how these grow further between now and the service becoming fully operational in December 2019.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
