Has the Elizabeth Line Effected House Prices in London?
The Crossrail Effect
Opened back in May, after ten years in the making, the Elizabeth Line is a totally new mode of transport for London. Similar to the RER in Paris and the S-Bahn in Germany, the Elizabeth Line is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with links between underground and mainline stations.
Coined the “Crossrail effect” plans for the Elizabeth Line have had home-hunters looking for bargains along the route for the past decade and it certainly has had an effect on house prices. Places like Abbey Wood, West Drayton and Forest Gate have seen a huge surge in interest, while already popular areas such as Ealing, Acton and even Canary Wharf have felt an increase too.
House Price Growth throughout London
The strongest price growth since work began in 2012 was in its eastern section, from Whitechapel to Chadwell Heath while Romford had a whopping 234% increase in interested buyers. More recently Abbey Wood, situated between the boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley, has seen the strongest house price growth in the capital with prices sitting at an average £362,000 up from £175,000 10 years ago. Twyford and West Drayton to the west of the route have also had an over 200% increase in buyer demand compared to a decade ago.
Housing Demand Across London
As we know everything from a Waitrose to a leisure centre can effect house prices and a new station certainly tops this list. That said Crossrail offers more than just that, it is uniquely linking outlying suburbs offering them speedy access to Central London hubs. These trains are modern, air conditioned and super fast as well as having the added bonus of WIFI. Once commuters feel the benefits of this there will most likely be even more demand for housing along the route.
Infact, the impact will be felt beyond the main Crossrail line with a domino effect predicted across the whole of the capital, especially on areas that sit a few stops away from the new line either by bus or tube.
The next phase of the Elizabeth Line is set to open later this year and we are interested to see how this will effect prices and demand throughout the capital once again.
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