Crossrail`s commuter opportunities for property investors
Released on: October 26, 2007, 11:14 am
Press Release Author: Jim watson
Industry: Real Estate
Press Release Summary: Earlier this month prime minister Gordon Brown announced the government was giving the go-ahead to the £16 billion Crossrail project
Press Release Body: Earlier this month prime minister Gordon Brown announced the government was giving the go-ahead to the £16 billion Crossrail project, which will see a new high-speed rail link heading from east to west across London in the same way Thameslink heads from north to south.
The announcement means that, from 2017, a link will be in place between Maidenhead in Berkshire and Shenfield in Essex, with spurs running off to Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood in south-east London. As well as providing a rapid link which will connect with the main central London terminuses of Paddington and Liverpool Street, the route will also interchange with the Docklands Light Railway and all but two of the London Underground lines.
With so many connections supplied by the route, it has been widely anticipated that districts of Property linked by Crossrail will see prices rise, which may be of considerable interest to those looking to invest in London property with a view to selling as prices rise. For example, the Islington Gazette reported earlier this month that local real estate agents are predicting a boom in property prices in the borough, due to the link with Farringdon Station, which already hosts three tube lines and Thameslink.
However, those looking for investment properties along the route may also want to consider looking beyond the capital to the commuter belt. Today estate agency Haart said Maidenhead was set to become the leading commuter town for London. It predicted that the Berkshire location, which had already seen house prices rising by 18 per cent this year, would enjoy a rise of another 20 per cent over the next five years in anticipation of Crossrail.
Haart suggested that Maidenhead had all the necessary attractions for this to occur, with good schools and amenities, attractive scenery and the proximity of Windsor and its castle. To all this will be added a cut in journey times between the town and central London to 20 minutes once Crossrail services begin. Jane Matthews, manager of Haart\'s Maidenhead branch, said: \"The market is buoyant and there has already been a substantial rise in property prices. However, homeowners that remain in the area will see even greater returns. The completion of the Crossrail line in 2017 will definitely boost prices further, as Maidenhead becomes a preferred spot for commuters.\"
Thus those looking to find places to buy in anticipation of price rises may well look to Maidenhead, or of course to Shenfield at the Essex end of the line. But perhaps it should also be noted that pressure is already growing for Crossrail links to be extended to other towns. Rail group Superlink has called for links to towns and cities as far away as Cambridge, Ipswich and Milton Keynes, calling such an expansion \"self financing\", reports Transport Briefing.
Bearing in mind the time gap between now and 2017, not to mention any changes in government that may take place in that time, property investors may do well to keep an eye on such possibilities.
In crowded urban areas public transport may be a key issue for property investors, both in London and elsewhere, with car travel increasingly deterred as other cities plan their own congestion charging schemes. With Glasgow looking to expand its Subway, Manchester\'s Metrolink tram system extending and other cities pushing hard for their own light rail systems, investors elsewhere may find similar opportunities as a result of growing public transport infrastructures.
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