Yahoo Finance Londoners pay almost £50,000 more to live near tube or train station
People living in the capital are paying almost £50,000 ($70,462) more to live near a tube or train station, new research has found.
According to data from Nationwide (NBS.L) people are shelling out a £46,800 premium in London for properties 500 metres from the nearest station, compared with a similar house 1,500m away. This is a slight increase to 9.7% from 8.6% the year before.
People in Glasgow, which has the largest network of suburban railway lines in the UK outside of London, are paying a £11,400 premium for properties with valuable transport links, up from 3.5% last year to 7.2%.
Within the Greater Glasgow area there are around 155 railway stations with a further 15 subway stations in the city centre of Scotland’s largest city.
Meanwhile, those in Greater Manchester are paying £11,000 on a comparable basis, a fall to 6.2% from 9% in 2019-20. Recent years have seen a further expansion of the Metrolink network to Manchester Airport and the opening of the ‘Second City Crossing’ and most recently the Trafford Park line.
As well as transport links, the Nationwide data took into account other property characteristics such as type of house, number of bedrooms and local neighbourhood.
The analysis is based on transactions in the period from April 2020 to March 2021, which incorporates any shifts in housing preferences as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“London homebuyers still appear willing to pay a significant premium for being close to a station compared with those in Glasgow and Greater Manchester. This probably reflects the greater reliance on public transport in the capital, with residents less likely to drive,” Andrew Harvey, Nationwide's senior economist, said.
“The pandemic does not appear to have reduced the desirability of being close to a station in London, despite reduced public transport usage.”
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He added: “It would appear that those buying in the capital continue to value accessibility to rail and tube links. And while public transport utilisation remains well below pre-pandemic levels, TfL reports that the re-opening of shops, pubs and restaurants has helped boost Tube usage.”
The research showed that the Circle line serves London’s most expensive areas, taking in much of central London and also parts of west London. Average house prices are around £850,000 in areas where the nearest station is on the Circle line.
Of all the London Underground lines, average house prices are least expensive where the nearest station is on the Metropolitan line, which stretches towards the outer suburbs, with only a short section in central London.
The lowest average house prices amongst TfL served routes are currently found where the nearest station is operated by TfL Rail, ahead of the introduction of Crossrail services.
“The lower prices for TfL Rail may reflect that most of these stations are outside of central London and that delivery of the Crossrail project remains behind schedule,” Harvey said.
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