Transport a key in southern property hotspots

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Author: Jim Barnaby

Article source: http://www.articledeshboard.com/. Used with author's permission.

Amid the recent gloomy headlines about the property industry there have been many who have pointed out that certain areas are beacons of light, offering the prospect of increasing prices which may interest those keen on investing in property.

Of the five prospective 2008 property hotspots listed by the Independent this week, there were notable differences between the characteristics of different places. Liverpool was tipped to do well because of the attention its European City of Culture status will bring. Scotland is less prone to the cyclical market experienced further south, while Wales is expected to offer cheaper second homes than the Cotswolds across the border, plus some good commuter town prospects in towns near Cardiff.

The creation of new transport links was not listed by the paper as a factor in the fortunes of Scotland, Wales or Merseyside and with good reason. Liverpool, after all, has been unsuccessful so far in its attempts to get a tram system, while in Scotland or Wales one new transport link may affect only a small part of a geographically large area. Even where projects are taking place, moreover, such as in Glasgow, the scale is quite small. Scotland's largest city has recently scaled back its original proposals to expand the Subway, which is the third oldest underground system in the world but has never been enlarged.

Nobody could say the same about London, either of its underground or other transport facilities. It is a frequent gripe from the regions that the capital and its hinterland gets the lions share of the public transport budget. Whatever the merits of this claim, the Independent's listing of east London and north Kent as its south-eastern hotspots has plenty to do with transport.

In the latter case, towns such as Chatham and Dartford are tipped to perform well because of new high-speed links to the capital, making them more commuter-friendly. In the case of the East End, it is events which are loosely or directly associated with the infrastructure improvements included in the Olympic package that have contributed to Hackney and Tower Hamlets being listed. The opening of the East London Line extension in 2010 is the example cited by the paper.

This view is shared by property magazine Buy Association. Spokesman Paul Collins said one of the key elements of the revitalisation of east London beyond two weeks of sport four years hence was the transport improvements that would serve the new housing developments being created.

"The transport is good, particularly in that part of London because you've got the new developments going into the Olympics site, you've got the fact that the Docklands Light Railway is extending down to Woolwich as well."

Various factors can influence property booms in different areas. But in London and the south-east, with its high population density, long commuting distances and congestion charges, it may just be that the importance of good transport infrastructure is a more important issue in creating good locations for property investment than elsewhere.

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Jim Barnaby is a real estate investment broker and successful property investment adviser delivering research and selected UK and overseas property investment solutions with experience in spanish properties, french property investment, German property, Cyprus holiday homes,cape-verde.assetz.co.uk/"> Property in Cape Verde, German property investment, cape-verde.assetz.co.uk ">cape verde property buy to let property