Rail improvements provide a ‘tremendous opportunity’ for property investors

Almost two-thirds of property investors now rate new and upgraded rail and tram links as providing the most attractive property investment opportunities, especially when it comes to new developments, fresh research shows.

According to a new study commissioned by Amicus Property Finance, the specialist short-term property lender, 86% of UK property developers say that investors are increasingly looking to capitalise on the government’s £23bn infrastructure scheme.

Improved road transport links (55%), local authority-sponsored urban regeneration schemes (48%) and airport upgrades (43%) were also ranked highly among property investors in terms of the potential offered by developing adjacent sites. 

Analysis of the government-backed projects on an individual basis shows that 77% of property developers ranked Crossrail and Crossrail 2 as offering the most potential for residential schemes, ahead of High Speed 2, at 51%, Thameslink (47%) and superfast broadband (14%).

Keith Aldridge, founder and managing director at Amicus Property Finance, said: “The government’s decision to invest in building new infrastructure and upgrading existing assets provides a tremendous opportunity for residential and commercial property developers and we can expect this to continue for many years to come.

“The longer term impact of this infrastructure programme on regenerating existing residential communities and creating new ones cannot be underestimated, particularly when combined with the government’s renewed commitment to addressing the country’s housing gap. We have already seen growing demand among developers seeking short term finance to fund infrastructure-related residential and commercial schemes.”