Investment opportunities in areas around new Crossrail stations

PETALING JAYA: The largest infrastructure project since World War Two in London, Crossrail, will see residential properties in areas within key stations outperforming the general prime central market by 6% by 2018 when the stations are completed. Knight Frank’s Asia Pacific Head of Research, Nicholas Holt, revealed this hot investment tip at The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2014 on Saturday, April 19, where he spoke on the topic of “Investing in London – is it too late?” “Crossrail is an East-West railway line of under and over-ground tracks essentially linking Heathrow to Canary Wharf,” he said. “The key stations are Canary Wharf, Whitechapel, Liverpool Street, Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington and we’re expecting a 1% outperformance within a 10-minute walk to these stations, and a 1.5% outperformance in the key interchanges of Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road. “If we map the cumulative price growth with our forecast over the next five years, the areas around Crossrail stations are likely to outperform the general prime central London markets by up to 6% by 2018 and possibly more beyond that.” Holt also shared that the London residential market is still strong as demand continues to outstrip supply. He said that according to the 2014 The Wealth Report by Knight Frank, London holds court as a global economic city with leading financial banking institutions, media and technology, and service industries. And he also pointed out that high net worth individuals select London as their city of choice when it comes to children’s education, networking, and financial security and stability. As a result, demand for property in London remains strong. He also revealed that there will not be any oversupply of residential property in the future. The UK government forecast of household growth by 2022 is that an additional 525,000 households will require housing in London. The research data Holt said revealed that “there is a huge shortfall in supply over the next 10 years” with only 277,000 units coming into the market. So what can investors expect moving forward? For 2015, Holt says, the market will go flat, due to the UK general elections, which generally cool the market as people await the outcome of who is selected to government, and also the application of the new capital gains tax on non-residents selling their property. After the elections, Holt believes the market will pick up again. The forum themed 'Buy, Sell or Hold?' was organised by The Edge Malaysia, sponsored by Hong Leong Bank and supported by Sunway Bhd. For the full coverage of The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2014, read the coming April 28 issue of City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge weekly.

For more information on Building and Construction event, please visit www.asiapacificevents.com