The new Elizabeth Line is already having a huge impact on London’s house prices, with a current increase of 31% according to CBRE.

The Crossrail project will cut journey times between east and west London stations in particular, and aim to boost London’s economic growth by rejuvenating the surrounding communities. According to Hamptons International, “one in ten of all London property sales are within range of a Crossrail station”, and this is becoming an attractive prospect for investors. One area in particular that is expected to benefit the most from the Crossrail development is Woolwich.

The new £70 million Crossrail station at Woolwich began construction in March 2015 and is being developed alongside the construction of approximately 2,517 new homes, in addition to the 1,248 homes already built around the site. The area surrounding the station is bordered with Grade I and Grade II-listed buildings, including the Greenwich Heritage Centre, Royal Artillery Museum, retail stores, restaurants, offices, hotels, and community centres.

Advantages of the Woolwich Crossrail:

• Biggest savings in journey times of all the areas surrounding the Crossrail project.
• One of the largest increases in property prices.
• Revitalising local communities.

Upon completion in 2018, the station will invite a much wider range of demographics to the area, such as young professionals and families who may want to live or work in the newly refurbished community. The journey time from Woolwich to Bond Street will take just 21 minutes, rather than the 36 minutes on the previous line, and halve the journey time to Heathrow to 47 minutes. In addition, CBRE predicts that the Crossrail project will add around 13% to average house prices, though within the Woolwich area, this figure is expected to reach up to 19%. The projected 10% reduction in travel times across the capital is impacting house prices further, increasing the value of homes in Woolwich by an additional 6%.

As a result, the Woolwich Crossrail is an exciting prospect for investors, with the second highest price growth of any other Crossrail area. JLL data sources predict an increase of property prices in the Woolwich area by 52%, positioning it a close second behind Whitechapel in house price growth, which is anticipating a slightly higher 54% increase.

These figures make for an easy choice for investors looking for viable investment opportunities and will undoubtedly continue to attract considerable attention as the Crossrail project develops.