London review

Good month for the nation, great month for the capital

Robin Johnson

MD, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward

May saw a massive step forward for London’s future. Although jubilee celebrations were probably more memorable for most of us, the opening of the new Elizabeth Line – or Crossrail, as it was previously dubbed – has already had a profound effect on the local economies that surround its stations.

As John Dickie, chief executive of business group London First, which marshalled the project, wrote just before the line opened, “Although London paid for Crossrail, its benefits are not limited to the capital and the south-east. Some 62 per cent of all the project’s contracts have been awarded to companies based beyond the M25, providing a range of goods and services from steel doors from the north-west to communications and controls from the north-east.” Its impact will nonetheless be most obvious on the millions of people living in and around London whose travel to work and play has just become considerably easier. While the entire line won’t be operational until next year, trains are already running from Paddington to Abbey Wood, with the line set to run as far west as Reading when work is completed.

Research by Rightmove illustrates exactly how big an influence the new transport link has had on the housing market in areas surrounding the line’s stations since the project was confirmed a decade ago.

Many areas near stations on the line that were previously less connected to key commuter hubs such as Liverpool Street or Paddington have seen a surge in prices and interest from buyers and renters.

Maryland Station in Newham, which provides an additional option for those commuting near wellconnected Stratford, has seen the biggest jump in asking prices, more than doubling compared to ten years ago (+108 per cent) from £233,480 to £486,235. This compares to the London average increase over the past ten years of 55 per cent.

Twyford, at the end of the western section of the line and the next stop along from better-connected Reading, has seen the biggest jump in the number of buyers contacting estate agents, more than tripling compared to ten years ago (+245 per cent).

Those now looking to buy near Abbey Wood station, at the end of the South East section of the line, face the stiffest competition from other buyers. Competition, measured by the number of people enquiring about each available property in an area, has soared more than nine times (+869 per cent). While total buyer demand has risen the most in western areas, prices and competition have risen most in eastern areas. It is a similar story for tenants as many look to balance their commute into London with where they can afford to live, as rising rents in London have seen average asking rents reach a new record of £2,195 per calendar month, up 14 per cent in April compared to this time last year.

Southall has seen the biggest increase in number of tenants contacting letting agents compared to ten years ago, more than quadrupling (+372 per cent). Asking rents near Southall station are lower than nearby Hanwell or Ealing.

Asking rents have increased the most in western stations Slough (+44 per cent) and Burnham (+43 per cent) while those looking to rent near Custom House station face the most competition from other renters. Custom House, one of the new stations built for the Elizabeth Line and benefitting from significantly lower travel times into central London, has seen competition increase by a staggering 33 times (+3270 per cent) compared to ten years ago. Our own experience in and around London is that while proximity to these new (or sometimes already existing) stations has given values a boost, there has also been a ripple effect outwards. March data from the Office for National Statistics, the latest available, shows lowest annual house price growth in London compared to the rest of the UK – but average prices rising by 4.8 per cent over the year to March 2022 is hardly insignificant. The capital’s average house prices remain the most expensive of any region in the UK, with an average price of £524,000 in March 2022. We all know that affordability is a challenge for younger first-time buyers hoping to get on the property ladder in London and the South East, and the cost-of-living crisis is not making things any easier. But investing in new infrastructure like the Elizabeth Line doesn’t just mean soaring house prices and rents for properties set for improved access to the city.

It opens local economies, providing the incentive for businesses to invest to support local community demand. And even though prices are up, in some cases by a staggering amount, over ten years, there are still plenty of opportunities for those with smaller budgets. Government has been trying to make homeownership more accessible in London for decades; what a gift the Elizabeth Line is, then, for it has taken the intense pressure off for would-be buyers previously forced to compete in the city and its most commutable areas. M I