Rising in the east: house prices in England and Wales slow for summer but emerging Crossrail hotspots in east London lead growth
House prices are continuing to climb, at a slow and steady pace, up 1.6 per cent in London compared to this time last year.
Areas on the fringes of the capital with good transport links — and the promise of Crossrail to come — are seeing the strongest growth, according to the latest figures released today.
The average asking price of a home in inner London (covered by travel Zones 1 and 2) is currently £795,000 on Rightmove.
The average in outer London is £518,000.
Boroughs in the east are seeing asking prices rise fastest with average prices in Hackney seeing the largest increases, with annual growth of 8.9 per cent adding £10,000 to local house prices in the past 12 months.
"With an average property price of £686,663, Hackney is not a cheap borough, but perhaps for families looking for an inner London home it still offers value compared to properties in some of the much pricier boroughs equally close to the centre," says Rightmove director Miles Shipside.
THE CROSSRAIL EFFECT
The combination of value for money and the impending high-speed rail network, Crossrail, means average asking prices further east are outperforming the London average.
Prices in the borough of Redbridge — which will be home to four Crossrail stations (Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath) by the end of 2018 — are up 7.7 per cent to £478,000. At £40,000 lower than the outer London average, this suggests that prices in the borough may still rise further.
It's a similar story in Bexley (Abbey Wood), Greenwich (Woolwich), and Newham (Custom House, Pudding Mill Lane, Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park) where prices have increased by more than five per cent on average but are still below £460,000.
Havering (Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood), where asking prices are just over £405,000, has also seen asking prices rise 3.4 per cent year-on-year.
Shipside says: "We know that commutability has a large effect on prices in the capital, and these figures bear this out. In time-honoured fashion, buyers are paying more for a quicker and more convenient journey to work.”
THE RISE OF THE MIDLANDS
Asking prices across England and Wales rose 3.1 per cent to £314,000 over the course of the year but prices in the East Midlands and West Midlands rose at double this rate.
"With the London market now well beyond the reach of many buyers, we have seen a definite ripple effect to these more affordable regions, which have good transport links to either London or other large cities and towns, and which benefit from various infrastructure initiatives — such as HS2 and other transport and urban regeneration projects,” says national sales director at estate agents Leaders, Kevin Shaw.
Derbyshire and Northamptonshire in the East Midlands and Norfolk in the East are the counties leading the "mini-boom" according to Rightmove.