House price premiums near stations in London, Manchester and Glasgow revealed

Home buyers in London pay a typical premium of nearly £50,000 to be close to transport links, according to analysis.

Those in Glasgow and Manchester face paying around £11,000 more on average, Nationwide Building Society found.

Nationwide compared house prices within 500 metres of the nearest metro or railway station with similar properties 1.5 kilometres away.

It found that people in London pay a typical £46,800 premium to be close to a station.

People in Glasgow pay a £11,400 premium on average to be near a station while those in Greater Manchester pay around £11,000 more.

Researchers found that premiums to be close to a station have been increasing in London and Glasgow in recent months but have shrunk in Manchester.

Andrew Harvey, Nationwide’s senior economist, said: “London home buyers still appear willing to pay a significant premium for being close to a station compared with those in Glasgow and Greater Manchester.

“This probably reflects the greater reliance on public transport in the capital, with residents less likely to drive.

“The pandemic does not appear to have reduced the desirability of being close to a station in London, despite reduced public transport usage. Indeed, our analysis suggests the premium has actually increased slightly compared with pre-pandemic levels.

“We’ve also seen a noticeable increase in the premium to be located close to a station in the Greater Glasgow area, but in Greater Manchester, home buyers appear to be placing a little less value on being close to a rail or tram stop compared to before the pandemic.”

He added: “It is possible that priorities for home buyers in the Greater Manchester area have changed during the pandemic, with a greater emphasis placed on things like local amenities and access to outdoor space.”

Looking at London, Mr Harvey said: “The Circle line serves the capital’s most expensive areas taking in much of central London and also parts of west London. Average house prices are around £850,000 in areas where the nearest station is on the Circle line.

“Of all the London Underground lines, average house prices are least expensive where the nearest station is on the Metropolitan line (£474,000). This probably reflects that it stretches towards the outer suburbs, with only a short section in central London.”