Elizabeth Line: House prices double around Crossrail stations as interest in Stratford and Abbey Wood soars

House prices in areas surrounding the soon to be opened Elizabeth Line have doubled in price, new research reveals.

Local areas around Maryland, Abbey Wood and Stratford stations have all grown in interest in the last decade, data from Rightmove shows.

The Elizabeth Line is set to open on 24 May and will stretch more than 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Despite delays in the line opening, the number of buyers looking to move near the stations has steadily surged with competition now more than nine times that of ten years ago in Abbey Wood.

Those now looking to buy near Abbey Wood station, at the end of the South East section of the line, face the stiffest competition from other buyers.

Competition, measured by the number of people enquiring about each available property in an area, has soared by 869 per cent.

Maryland Station in Newham, which provides an additional option for those commuting near well-connected Stratford, has seen the biggest jump in asking prices, more than doubling compared to ten years ago from £233,480 to £486,235 – up 108 per cent.

This compares to the London average increase over the past ten years of 55 per cent.

More from Property and Mortgages

Meanwhile, Twyford, at the end of the western section of the line and the next stop along from better connected Reading, has seen the biggest jump in the number of buyers contacting estate agents, more than tripling compared to ten years ago – up 245 per cent.

It is a similar story for tenants as many look to balance their commute into London with where they can afford, as rising rents in London have seen average asking rents reach a new record of £2,195 per calendar month, up 14 per cent compared to this time last year.

For renters, asking prices have risen most in Slough – up 44 per cent – followed by next-stop-along Burnham with asking prices rising 43 per cent.

Custom House, one of the new stations built for the Elizabeth Line and benefitting from significantly lower travel times into Central London, has seen competition increase by a staggering 33 times – 3,270 per cent – compared to ten years ago.

Southall has seen the biggest increase in tenants enquiring compared to ten years ago, more than quadrupling – up 372 per cent – with tenants attracted by lower rents than nearby Hanwell or Ealing.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science, said: “Our unique view of the whole housing market over the last ten years really shows how many areas near stations that are now either better connected, or have seen their journey times into central London significantly slashed, have received a lot of new attention from buyers and renters.

“As the Elizabeth Line opens, it does so with a backdrop of record rents in London, a rising cost of living and a shortage of available homes.

“Areas further out from central London which have lower asking prices or rents, but are now more easily commutable will be attractive to new buyers and tenants in search of somewhere affordable to live near the capital.

“Not only this, but new working from home patterns since the pandemic started two years ago will have many people weighing up whether they are prepared to commute from further away if they need to do so less often.”