Asking prices for homes along the newly named Elizabeth line — already affectionately nicknamed the Lizzie line — have soared by up to a third in 12 months, and new research suggests the gravy train may have plenty of steam for years to come. There are no losers, though there are very definite outperformers.
Exclusive research from Rightmove reveals the best-performing sections of the train line formerly known as Crossrail are those at its furthest reaches. While no great revelation for property veterans, novice home seekers should bear this point in mind. The best investment areas include plain-Jane but affordable Abbey Wood in south-east London, and ravishingly pretty and desirable Taplow, an affluent commuter town in south Buckinghamshire.
Meanwhile, a new report by property consultant CBRE, published today, predicts that average prices around Elizabeth line stations will increase 3.3 per cent per year above local house price growth until the line launches in 2018/19.
This amounts to an average £133,000 price hike between now and when the first trains run.
EASTERN SECTION
Canary Wharf spur to Abbey Wood
A once-ignored corner of Abbey Wood straddling the two boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley has been the best performer of the past year. Asking prices rose by almost 35 per cent to an average £286,706.
Jennet Siebrits, head of residential research at CBRE, tips this outpost of Zone 4 — where journey times to central London will be cut by almost 30 minutes — to enjoy annual growth of 5.8 per cent a year. Neighbouring Woolwich, Custom House and Canary Wharf, where journey times will be cut by between 15 and 25 minutes, will see a more modest growth of between four and five per cent. This is, of course, still an excellent rate.
However, Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, has her eye on Woolwich — currently the focus of billions of pounds of investment.
“There are 163 new homes being built within a 15-minute walk of the new station, and planning has been approved for 2,700 more,” she says.
“Such place-making will likely create price uplifts and deliver value, as this area of London becomes a more highly connected place in which to live.”
WESTERN SECTION
Taplow, Bucks, between Maidenhead and slough
On the western end of the line, Taplow is an affluent village near the Thames, close to the National Trust’s lovely Cliveden estate and popular with the golf and Hunter wellies set. Rightmove found that asking prices in Taplow are up by almost 32 per cent in the last year, to an average of £315,539.
CBRE believes that, with journey savings of more than half an hour into London, Taplow, and neighbours Maidenhead and Burnham, will all enjoy Lizzie line price increases of between three and four per cent between now and 2019.
INNER WESTERN SECTION
The Ealing quintet
Five Lizzie line stations act as stepping stones to cross the London Borough of Ealing. One of them, Hanwell, saw a 21.6 per cent rise in prices over the last year to an average £479,742. In coming years, CBRE’s Jennet Siebrits believes Hanwell and another Ealing borough station, Acton Main Line, with journey time savings of about half an hour, are the pair to watch, with prices increasing between 5.5 and 6.5 per cent.
EASTERN SECTION
The Stratford branch
Asking prices in three Essex locations soared over the last year, says Rightmove: Ilford saw a 29.5 per cent rise to an average £289,426, with Harold Wood prices up 28.9 per cent to £278,167, while Romford saw a 27.3 per cent rise to an average £267,590.
Susan Emmett, director of residential research at Savills, feels Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath — currently affordable and set to see about 10 minutes sliced off a typical commute — could continue to grow over the next few years. “All these locations are in boroughs where we expect house prices to grow by 17 per cent over the next five years, outperforming the London average of 15 per cent.”
Jonathan Stephens, managing director of property consultancy Surrenden Invest, says affordable Ilford, thanks to its appeal to first-time buyers and investors, not to mention local second steppers looking to trade up, is already seeing a scramble for well-priced new-build stock around the station.
“There will be a period of intense growth, similar to what we have already seen in areas such as Royal Arsenal and Woolwich,” he said. “As the profile rises we should see significant gentrification resulting in sustained growth in values in Ilford.”