House prices have nearly doubled in Waltham Forest in the four years since the borough helped host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. According […]By Waltham Forest Echo

The Olympic Park during London 2012, part of which was situated in Leyton. Credit James Cracknell

House prices have nearly doubled in Waltham Forest in the four years since the borough helped host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

According to data gathered from the Land Registry’s UK House Price Index, average property prices have risen 78.2 percent, from £236,796 in July 2012, to £422,049 in June 2016, the most recent month for which data is available.

Across all six London 2012 host boroughs prices have risen 64 percent, more than a tenth faster than London as a whole. But the rise in Waltham Forest is the biggest of any borough over the past four years.

Residential property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, which helped conduct research into price comparisons over the past four years, claims major financial investment in Olympic host boroughs helped boost prices.

Dan Gandesha, chief executive of property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, said: “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.

“Over the next few years, the capital will further benefit from significant infrastructure projects – particularly Crossrail where areas that were relatively inaccessible will suddenly be on London’s doorstep. In turn, like the Olympic effect, house prices around Crossrail’s 40 stations are continuing to see an upward trend despite post-Brexit uncertainty.

“The reality is, no-one can say for sure what will happen just now. But the fundamentals of the capital’s housing market are self-evident – demand far outstrips supply, which is further exacerbated by population growth and low borrowing costs.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.