London: The price of residential property within 15 minutes’ walk of Crossrail stations in London has outperformed those houses in the wider area by an average of 5 per cent since 2008, according to research from property agent Knight Frank.

Homes near to Bond Street station have experienced the biggest price rises, climbing by 82 per cent over the past six years, far above the 44 per cent growth seen in Ealing over the same period, said the report. Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Transport links are key factors in the property market, especially in the capital.

Knight Frank’s recent survey of those renting property in London showed that nearly 80 per cent of Londoners said proximity to transport links was a key factor when deciding where to live. “This increased demand for property close to transport links has a clear relationship with price performance.”

When completed in 2019, Crossrail will bring an additional 1.5 million people to within a 45-minute commute of the centre of London. Experts say that in many cases it is not just shorter travel times that are boosting demand for property in those areas, but also the large regeneration projects connected with transport projects such as Crossrail, which tend to lead to a wider choice of high-end local shops.

While the research documented pockets of sustained outperformance, especially in central London, it also highlights depressed prices around a few stations on the eastern and western Crossrail lines.

Price growth in areas such as Southall in west London and Woolwich in the southeast has lagged behind other areas: a possible sign of a buying opportunity, according to Knight Frank. “Those areas where price growth has lagged behind the surrounding areas may offer significant opportunities for further price uplifts, especially where large-scale regeneration and development is under way,” said Gilmore.

The report predicts average price growth of 15.2 per cent in prime central London between now and the end of 2018, with growth of around 18 per cent across London as a whole.

— Financial Times