Heathrow third runway ‘could see house prices fall 20%’
Today’s announcement that London’s Heathrow Airport is to get a third runway could see local house values hit serious turbulence, plummeting by 20% or more, it is claimed.
Russell Quirk, Chief Executive Officer and founder of leading online agency, eMoov, says the disastrous implications for those affected are an increase in noise and air pollution rendering their properties undesirable to buyers.
This reduced demand could see prices fall by 20% or more, creating London’s longed for affordable housing market, but one that buyers won’t want to touch, he says.
“No one in their right mind could find a property desirable if that property sees jumbo jets hurtling past at all hours of the day and night, rattling secondary double glazing and leaving the faint aroma of jet fuel lingering in the air.
“Homeowners have been screaming out for an affordable part of the capital and the decision to place a third runway at Heathrow may have inadvertently provided that, but not as they would have wished.
“Although the expansion will mean great things for London and the economy, it could see house prices in those areas worst affected by the noise and air pollution plummet by as much as 20% as a result. We aren’t talking a month or two of minor road works, this is a seriously large project with ongoing, permanent implications for those impacted by it.
“A fall in value of 20% is a very realistic expectation given the negative impact noise and air pollution can have to a property’s desirability and we could see the average house price in the likes of Hounslow and Hillingdon sink to around £330,000.”
The required demolition of some 783 homes to build the third runway will not only wipe out the communities of Longford and Harmondsworth, but it could also have serious impacts on the housing markets across Hillingdon, Hounslow, Windsor and Maidenhead and as far west as Merton and a large part of prime central London.
In the last 10 years, property prices in Hillingdon, home of Heathrow Airport, have increased by 77%, but a 20% fall in values would a loss of more than £80,000 for Hillingdon homeowners.
Prices in Hounslow have risen 70% in the last decade but today’s decision could see the average house price of £407,666 reduce by as much as £82,000.
Further west Windsor and Maidenhead could also be severely affected by flight paths for a third runway at Heathrow. Although prices have risen at a marginally lower rate in the last decade (68%), the higher price of property means a 20% decrease would see homeowners in the area almost £100,000 out of pocket.
Even areas such as Richmond, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham could see a depreciation in property value due to noise and air pollution. In the last month alone, homeowners in Westminster saw prices fall by more than £65,000, so this could be the final nail in the coffin, says Mr Quirk.
The decision was approved following a UK cabinet meeting, but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who opposes the Heathrow expansion, says a third runway is “undeliverable”. “The day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise.”
The main images are from Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Airport#/media/File:Qantas_b747_over_houses_arp.jpg, which is photographed by Adrian Pingstone and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHeathrow_Airport_map_with_third_runway.svg
