Two major projects in the UK are set to boost house prices in a number of areas. Studies suggest that the Crossrail project in London could boost prices and developments in London and outwards into Berkshire and Essex with prices rising by up to 25%. While the £700 million modernisation of the London to Cardiff rail line is set to boost property values in the Bristol area by up to 10%.
The first detailed study of the impact on property of Crossrail suggest it will support the delivery of over 57,000 new homes and 3.25 million square metres of commercial space.
Significant property investment could take place at locations including Canary Wharf, Farringdon, Whitechapel, Abbey Wood, Custom House, Ealing Broadway, Southall and Woolwich and extend out to Berkshire and Essex.
It could help create £5.5 billion in added value to residential and commercial real estate along its route between 2012 and 2021 according to new research for Crossrail by GVA, the UK's largest independent commercial property consultant.
Crossrail is among the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK and will improve journey times across London, ease congestion and offer better connections, changing the way people travel around the capital.
There will be eight new stations in central London and Docklands and many existing stations will be upgraded for the project which stretches from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east with services are due to start in 2018.
It creates a direct connection between all of London's main business centres, linking Heathrow, with Paddington, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. Up to 24 trains per hour will operate in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel during peak periods, with each train able to carry 1,500 passengers. An estimated 200 million people will travel on Crossrail each year.
The report suggests that residential capital values immediately around Crossrail stations in central London will increase by 25% while those in the suburbs could go up by 20%. Commercial office values could increase by 10%.
Jonathan Cranley, sales and marketing director of Millgate, the Berkshire based luxury homes developer, said that although Crossrail will come with some initial disturbance, the end result will be hugely beneficial to the local communities. 'I fully expect to see the price of properties on or near Crossrail to rise in the coming years which is obviously good news for those thinking of buying today,' he added.
Consultants Knight Frank reckon that the electrification of the rail line to Cardiff which will result in a 20 minute reduction in journey times between the capital and Bristol, will increase desirability and substantially widen the property search area for prospective purchasers looking to move to Bristol and commute to London.
Between now and 2017, increased demand could boost property values by between 5% and 10% in some locations over and above general market trends as the journey time reduced to around an hour and 20 minutes.
Based on the assumption that those living in the Bristol area will be willing to travel for up to two hours each way, including getting from their home to Bristol Temple Meads rail station, improvements will open up a much larger search area for those commuters willing to drive for up to 40 minutes at the start of their journey to get to the rail station.
Areas in this extended search zone include Clifton, Sneyd Park, Leigh Woods, Redland, Bedminster, Southville, Failand, Wraxall and Wrington Vale.
