Olympic Borough House Price Growth Double Other London Boroughs, Says FindaProperty.com

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND, November 03, 2010

Asking prices for properties in the five Olympic boroughs have grown twice as fast as the non-Olympic London boroughs in the last year, new research from FindaProperty.com shows.

Between September 2009 and September 2010, the average asking price for properties across the Olympic boroughs of Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest increased by 3.0% from GBP 276,751 to GBP 284,936. In the same period, prices in the non-Olympic boroughs grew by an average of just 1.6%, while across the whole of the UK asking prices fell by 0.3%.

Newham, in East London, led the way with asking prices increasing by 7% on an annual basis. It does, however, still have the second lowest house prices of any London borough at GBP 230,752 on average.

Average property asking prices, Olympic versus non-Olympic boroughs Sept 2009 and 2010:
Avg Sales asking price Sep 2009 Avg Sales asking price Sept 2010 % yearly change Sep 09 - Sep 10
Olympic borough average GBP 276,751 GBP 284,936 3.0%
Newham GBP 215,626 GBP 230,752 7.0%
Greenwich GBP 259,408 GBP 269,650 3.9%
Hackney GBP 337,280 GBP 350,873 4.0%
Waltham Forest GBP 228,110 GBP 233,712 2.5%
Tower Hamlets GBP 343,330 GBP 339,695 -1.1%
Non-Olympic borough average GBP 414,924 GBP 421,612 1.6%

Commenting on the resilience of property markets in the Olympic boroughs, Nigel Lewis, property analyst at FindaProperty.com, said: "When London first won the Olympic Games property prices in the area sharply increased. People thought this would tail off but we're actually finding that the Olympic effect is having a lasting impact and local properties are still proving attractive to would-be buyers.

"These areas have some of the cheapest property in London but are benefiting from a huge investment in infrastructure that will have an impact far beyond the Olympics themselves. The closer we get to the Games, the more people are seeing effects such as new rail links and shopping centres being built which are making these areas more popular and driving prices up."

Marlon Fox, Managing Director of East London and Docklands estate agent, Outlook Property, said: "For many decades East London has been the subject of gross under investment which has culminated in some of the capital's lowest priced property and produced deprived transport, shopping and educational facilities. The granting of the Games in July 2005 proved to be the catalyst that was needed to bring substantial investment to the Olympic Boroughs. The building of Westfield's Stratford City and the Olympic Park makes this area one of the largest regeneration projects in Western Europe and will ensure that this multi cultural part of London continues to thrive and grow rapidly."

FindaProperty.com is a leading property website with a comprehensive search facility for house-hunters looking for property to buy or rent.

The site also holds independent editorial on the housing market, as well as guides to different aspects of the buying, selling and renting processes. These contain local information about council tax rates, school tables, crime rates, comments from local residents and photo albums, giving a general feel for an area.

Launched in 1997, FindaProperty.com now publishes the details of over 720,000 properties from over 10,400 agents, attracting over 3 million unique visitors and generating 74 million page impressions a month.

FindaProperty.com has tools to make home hunting easier including the ability to add notes to properties of interest, check out distances from properties to key places, and search recent property sold prices.

FindaProperty.com is recognised as a leading source of consistent and reliable UK housing market data.