Homes near Midland Metro are soaring in value
One is a three-bedroom home listed for £132,950 that has doubled in price from 15 years ago – just a few minutes’ walk from a Midland Metro stop.
The other is a two-bedroom terrace listed for £79,950, which has increased in price by just two thirds – and is more than a mile from the nearest railway link.
Both are in the same city - Wolverhampton – but the price changes show the impact on the cost of properties close to Midland Metro lines.
The comparison between the homes, one in Craddock Street, Whitmore Reans, the other in Villiers Avenue, Bilston, backs up new research on homes close to transport links.
The Lloyds Bank study has revealed that price increases for houses close to Midland Metro stops were higher than the average rise in the region.
Homes near Priestfield and The Royal stops in Wolverhampton rose from £33,290 in 1999 to £127,286 in 2016 – an increase of 282 per cent.
Houses close to Dudley Street, Guns Village, and West Bromwich, rose from £36,785 to £128,777 – a rise of 250 per cent.
The Midland Metro was launched in 1999, running from Wolverhampton to Snow Hill railway station in Birmingham. It was last year extended to Birmingham New Street.
Other stops in the Black Country where homes nearby saw increases include Black Lake in West Bromwich.
There the average house price jumped from £45,490 to £143,991 – a massive rise of 217 per cent.
Homes next to Kenrick Park and Trinity Way, West Bromwich, and Bilston Central and Loxdale, in Bilston were also among the top areas where prices had gone up fastest.
The average house price in the areas served by the tram system grew from £42,253 to £130,041. This has outperformed the region’s the average price of 175 per cent over the same period.
The figures, however, have surprised the owner of Wednesbury rental agency J9 Accommodation.
Owner Jim Haliburton said: “All the properties I have close to the Metro do let out, the ones in Wednesbury, the ones in Darlaston.
“But my experience tells me there is little enthusiasm between those properties in the West Midlands with transport links, and those without. It makes little difference.”
Lloyds Bank mortgage products director, Andrew Mason, said “A new and modern transport system is potentially a great catalyst to urban regeneration and can be a game changer for cities investing in improved links.
“An excellent tram system can stimulate inward investment for the local economy, unlock previously hard to reach sites for development and make it easier for people to move around the city.”
