New research from Nationwide Building Society shows that buyers in the city are prepared to pay 4.6 per cent more on average for properties close (up to 500 meters) to the stops of the Manchester Metrolink.
House sales in the Metrolink region rose by an average of 15 per cent in 2014. In some regions, sales even doubled, according to law firm JMW Solicitors LLP.
“It makes the home more attractive and easier to sell, coupled with sustainable house prices,” Andrew Garvie, head of JMW ‘s private client division, comments.
Metrolink, which in 2013/14 transported some 29.2 million passengers along its seven lines according to the Department for Transport, was the UK’s first modern, street-running rail system, having opened in 1992. Today, it is an essential component of Greater Manchester’s transportation network, with three new lines having opened in 2014.
Many of those buyers are purchasing their property not to live in it but as an investment and the Metrolink effect is an important consideration for those who want to maximise profits.With plans in place for a further line to be added by 2019, which would bring the Trafford Centre into the network, it looks like the Metrolink’s impact on everything from yields to property value is here to stay, according to real estate specialist Property Frontiers.
