The huge economic impact of the Elizabeth Line was highlighted today by research showing dramatic jumps in home and office rents near stations since it opened three years ago.
Passengers took their first journeys on the east west train route originally known as Crossrail on May 24 2022, a week after it was officially declared open by Queen Elizabeth II at Paddington station on May 17.
The £19 billion Reading to Shenfield and Abbey Wood line, links the capital’s west and east suburbs and commuter belts with the West End, the City and Heathrow.
It is already the busiest single railway line in Britain with the number of passenger journeys passing the 500 million mark in January this year. It has created what one agent called a “linear central business district” stretching from Paddington to Canary Wharf.
Data today shows how rents for homes near stations have surged by almost a third on average and as much as 80% in some locations since opening.
More than 80,000 tenancies were analysed by rental market experts Goodlord to track the rise in rents across the 32 Elizabeth Line stations since opening. Only one station has seen a decline in the average cost of rent.
It compared average prices in the twelve months leading up to the line opening versus the cost of rent over the last twelve months.
This 31% rise outstrips the 25% average rental cost rises seen across Greater London during the same time period.
The rent increases were biggest for properties situated between the line’s Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations, with an average increase of 80%.
Rents for homes with W1F postcodes were £2,448 before the opening of the line and have now increased to £4,402.
Rent have also increased dramatically in Whitechapel, rising by 73% from £1,699 per month on average to £2,940.
Further out towards the end of the line renters in Abbey Wood in south east London have seen a steep increase - with rental averages up by 50% from £1,157 in 2022 to £1,738 today.
Oli Sherlock, managing director of insurance for Goodlord, said:“Rents have risen dramatically across the country in recent years, fuelled by dwindling supply of rental stock and soaring demand from tenants. This is felt acutely in and around London, where tenants always pay a premium compared to national rental average.
“That’s why, when new transport connections open up, there is always a surge of demand from renters looking to snap up cheaper rents in newly well-connected areas. However, as we can see from this Elizabeth Line data, this ‘station surge’ ultimately pushes rents up even faster - creating mini rental hot spots in and around Greater London.”
It was a similar story with office rents, particularly in locations close to Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations, according to analysis by agents CBRE.
It found that from the introduction of the Crossrail Bill in early 2005 through to the first quarter of 2025, Farringdon saw office rental growth of 406% followed by Tottenham Court Road on 187%.
Richard Smart, Head of London Markets, at agents CBRE said: “The exceptional rental growth seen in Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road prove the potential for growth along the route of the Elizabeth Line. As London’s linear CBD becomes more entrenched over the coming years, we expect all markets along the route to benefit, especially Canary Wharf.
“Crossrail was a catalyst, both directly and indirectly, for the development of new office buildings. Between 2017 and the first quarter of 2025 13.9 million sq ft of development or refurbishment space completed within close proximity of a Central London Crossrail station; Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf.
“This represented 40% of all Central London office space that completed during that period. In addition, there is 3.6 million sq ft of space under construction within close proximity of a Central London Crossrail station, 27% of the market.
“Overall, developments close to the Crossrail stations outperformed the rest of the market. On average, the Crossrail buildings were 65% let at completion, whereas buildings that were not in close proximity to a Crossrail station were 56% let at completion.”
