Crossrail proves to be the silver bullet against an otherwise sluggish London market

The latest research from London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has shown that while the wider London property market has struggled in the two years since Crossrail officially opened, locations with a Crossrail station have been largely protected by a decline in house prices, increasing by an average of 3.3% since May 2022 when the line finally opened.

Benham and Reeves analysed house price growth across the postcodes home to each of the 41 Crossrail stations before comparing this to the wider market, as well as the local authorities in which each Crossrail station is found.*

The research shows that, across the Crossrail line as a whole, house prices in postcodes home to a Crossrail station have increased by an average of 3.3% since it first opened. However, since May 2022 property values have fallen by an average of -2.5% across the wider local authorities in which these Crossrail stations are found.

Since May 2022, the average London house price has fallen by -2.4% and at -3.7% this drop has been even greater across the wider boroughs home to a Crossrail station. However, postcodes home to a Crossrail station have seen an average increase of 2.5% during the same period, a swing of 6.2% versus the performance of the wider boroughs.

The same is also true outside of the M25, where Crossrail postcodes have enjoyed growth of 5.7% since the line opened, while the wider local authorities in which they are found have seen a marginal decline of -0.2% – again a swing of 5.9%.

The W1 postcode, home to both the Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street Crossrail stations, has seen the highest rate of house price growth since the line opened – up by 17.2% since May 2022.

In contrast, the wider boroughs of Camden (-15.6%) and Westminster (-12.7%), of which the W1 postcode covers, have both seen significant reductions in the average house price in the last two years.

The Canary Wharf Crossrail postcode of E14 has seen the average house price climb by 11.8% versus a -6.9% reduction seen across the wider borough of Tower Hamlets.

The RG10 postcode of Twyford has also seen double-digit house price growth of 10.5% since the launch of Crossrail, nearly double that compared to the growth seen across the wider area of Wokingham (5.4%).

In fact, 33 of the 41 Crossrail stations have seen positive house price growth across their respective postcodes since it launched, with 26 of the 41 stations seeing this postcode house price performance outperform that of the wider local authority.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Ever since it was first announced there was a buzz about Crossrail and areas due to benefit from the scheme started to see an almost immediate uplift in property market activity. While there’s been a few bumps in the road, or line as it were, it remains a fantastic draw for potential buyers who value the ability to traverse the capital and beyond with greater ease.

Of course, when it was first announced, no one could have predicted that higher mortgage rates and wider economic angst would result in the lethargic rate of house price growth seen across the London market over the last few years.

However, in this respect, Crossrail has certainly been a silver bullet, with postcodes home to a station largely outperforming the local authorities in which they are located and many posting positive house price growth versus the declines seen across the wider area.”