During my long career as an East London estate agent, I’ve watched Crossrail move off the drawing board and into the construction phase, I’ve seen stations preparing for the advent of the Elizabeth Line, and most importantly, I’ve seen house prices shoot up.

What does the Elizabeth Line mean for people who live in East London?

As everyone who lives in London knows, the UK capital depends on its excellent transport network. Because of the tube, the buses, the DLR and the overground trains, Londoners are able to get to work, getting from home to Central London far faster than they would be able to in their cars. The London Chamber of Commerce tells us that tube strikes – days without London’s main form of public transport – cost the economy upwards of £10 million per day.

So public transport is very, very important for London. Now we’re all eagerly awaiting the opening of the Elizabeth Line, the project formerly known as Crossrail, which will be starting to run services next year, in December 2019. Crossrail will connect East London with West London on a direct line. At the moment, people from East London wanting to travel to West London have to arrive at Liverpool Street Station, take the tube across London and cross their fingers they’ll successfully make their connection at Paddington. Crossrail will do away with that – there’ll be no need to change trains.

It will also improve transport for areas that have hitherto been less accessible, with the existing line from Shenfield in Essex to Stratford being upgraded. East London stations are also being improved, with Transport for London proposing to provide step-free access at all stations, and increase the size of ticket halls and concourses. The number of services will also increase.

Rise in East London house prices

This improved accessibility is not only going to make life easier for those who already live in East London, but it will also make East London more appealing to house buyers, driving up house prices. The London Borough of Redbridge has seen house price growth of nearly 9% over the last year, according to the Land Registry. Other East London boroughs are also showing better house price growth, such as the 4.5% seen in Barking and Dagenham and 4.2% in Havering.

This is a very exciting time for East London. House prices are on the up, meaning that boroughs like Redbridge and Hackney are great areas to invest in. Equally, if it’s time to move on, selling now will give you a chance of an excellent return – more for you to invest in your next property.

To find out how Dockleys can help you buy or sell property in East London, give me, Adam Dockley, a call today on 020 3633 4440.