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London 2012 Olympics host boroughs get Olympic property price bounce

Posted 5 August 2016 by Ben Salisbury

As Rio 2016 begins data shows the six London boroughs that hosted the Olympic Games in 2012 have seen bigger than average London house price rises since 2012...

With the Rio 2016 Olympics set to start this weekend new research reveals the bump the London 2012 Olympics gave to house prices in the six London boroughs that hosted the Olympics four years ago.

The six Olympic boroughs for London 2012, Hackney, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest have outperformed most other local authority areas in London in house price growth.

Research by residential property crowdfunding platform Property Partner found that house prices in the six boroughs have risen by 64% in the last 4 years, 11.2% more than the London average of 52.8% over the same period.

Dan Gandesha, CEO of property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, comments: “London 2012 was the catalyst for a flood of investment into the capital, much of which was injected into regenerating some of the capital’s most disadvantaged boroughs.

“The economic legacy of the Games - supporting new jobs and skills, encouraging trade, inward investment, tourism and improved transport links - has meant a corresponding rise in house prices in the six host boroughs. The economic, social and environmental gap between these boroughs and the rest of London is closing.

Waltham Forest, one of the six boroughs, saw the highest increase of all 32 London boroughs and takes the gold medal, with a 76.6% increase. The average house in the East London borough costs £418,146, up from £236,796 in 2012.

Hackney also takes a position on the podium with a bronze after a 66.9% rise since the Olympics in 2012. Newham is just out of the medals in 4th spot out of 32 contenders.

Lewisham, a borough that did not host any Olympic events in 2012 took silver position, partly due to interest from homebuyers in Blackheath, Brockley and New Cross.

The following table shows how the average property prices fared in the top ten London ‘growth’ boroughs since 2012 – the host boroughs are highlighted below. All six are in the top ten:

London house price increases since 2012
BoroughAverage house prices - July 2012 (£)Average house price - May 2016 (£)% change
Waltham Forest236,796418,14676.6
Lewisham243,277408,59967.9
Hackney324,416541,33766.9
Newham216,463351,89362.6
Haringey343,104554,99861.8
Tower Hamlets283,469455,26760.6
Barking & Dagenham168,007268,57959.9
Croydon222,293354,89859.7
Merton323,413516,08859.6
Greenwich241,183379,74657.5

Lloyds Bank find house price uplift for 14 postal districts closest to Olympic venue

Further research from Lloyds Bank backs up these findings and looks at price uplifts from the London 2012 Olympics by proximity of postcode to the Olympic venue. Lloyds found that prices in surrounding areas grew three times faster than the national market as well as outpacing the rest of London. Homes closest to the Olympic Park have gone up by £3,522 per month since the Games ended in 2012.

The study found that average prices in the 14 postal districts in East London closest to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park have risen from £286,638 in September 2012 to £438,065 in March 2016 – an increase of 53% or £151,427, more than three-times the rate of increase seen in England and Wales where nationally property values grew on average by 17% over the same period - from £234,947 to £275,872. In all 14 areas prices have gone up by more than £100,000.

Price performance in the 14 East London areas also beat London overall which has grown over the same period by 32% to an average price of £557,359.

Shoreditch has seen the biggest increase, £245,330, followed by Dalston (£203,113), Homerton (£197,737) and Bethnal Green (£178,893). East Ham recorded the lowest rise in prices, £83,566 in four years.

Nitesh Patel, Lloyds Bank housing economist, said: "The last Olympics Games, held in London, was a great event which captured the world’s attention for a few weeks in 2012, but the longer term benefits of the Games are still being felt today, particularly for homeowners in the areas close to the Olympic Park

“Regeneration in this part of the capital has seen significantly improved transport connections and facilities, which have helped attract businesses and households to the area and in turn boosted local property values."


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