Homes in north-east London will get a boost next year when work finally begins on upgrading one of the capital’s most unloved commuter services.
Passengers on the Gospel Oak to Barking rail route — shortened to the Goblin line by locals — have long endured slow, unreliable and overcrowded services.
But after years of passenger protests, work is set to begin on the £113 million electrification of the line, and is due to be completed in 2017.
Property winners will include home owners near stations at the eastern end of the line, including Leyton Midland Road, Leytonstone High Road, Wanstead Park and Woodgrange Park.
Passengers will be able to make the short journey to Blackhorse Road (Zone 3) to pick up the Victoria line, getting them to the West End in about 25 minutes.
Homes within 550 yards of a station are worth an average £42,000 more than those a mile away, claims a study by the Nationwide Building Society.
Near Leyton Midland Road in E10, the average property price is £351,311, according to the latest figures from Rightmove.
Homes close to Woodgrange Park station in Manor Park, E7, have an average price of £358,892.
Wanstead and Leytonstone (both E11) are the most expensive options with an average price of £402,957 — which is still about £100,000 below the London average.
As well as improved transport links on the horizon, all four areas have the advantage of patches of good-quality Victorian and Edwardian housing.
Right now, however, only Wanstead passes the urban village test with its gastropubs, cafés, and boutiques, as well as the 140-acre, Grade II-listed Wanstead Park.
“Wanstead is the place that everyone wants to live in because it is the only real London village in the area, with nice bars and bistros,” says Mitul Popat, branch partner at Steptons estate agents.
Consequently, Wanstead is the most expensive option on this stretch of the Goblin line – a two-bedroom converted flat typically costs between £350,000 and £400,000, while a four-bedroom period house would cost £600,000-plus.
Manor Park lacks Wanstead’s kerb appeal or its café culture, but has the huge advantage of also being on the new Crossrail line, giving it a double whammy of transport improvements to look forward to in 2017/18.
Right now it is relatively cheap. A two-bedroom conversion would cost about £250,000, while a four-bedroom period house would be priced from about £400,000.
Popat believes that the area, while currently still run-down, has huge potential.