Transport changes everything. And when what was once a train, a Tube and two changes away is suddenly door-to-door in 15 minutes, the investment story changes with it. But is it better to focus residential funds in the centre or at the periphery, where, in theory, improved transport links make the biggest change?
Hometrack ran the numbers for EG for two newly enhanced transport lines: Thameslink and the Overground.
The answer when it comes to central vs fringe is that there are benefits to both. In the short term, the numbers show that the highest growth rates have been in central areas, where new transport improves accessibility.
That is not to say there are not opportunities for savvy investors looking to buy cheap and wait for the trains to start arriving. They just need to be clever and pick where they go carefully.
“To get real capital growth outperformance, you need transport plus regeneration and/or change in the services on offer in a local market,” says Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Hometrack.
