101 reasons to love cycling in London #12 - sell your house for more!

For those of you out there who have been watching the housing market going up and down like the back end of a Tour de France cyclist - rejoice!  Not only did house prices rise for the seventh consecutive month in November (recession? what recession?), but now because of all those lovely everyday and ordinary cyclists free-wheeling through your local streets, if you live close to commuting distance of central London or other major employment areas, or close to safe cycling routes, or have secure cycle storage at home - your house is now more desirable and therefore likely to sell for more.


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Says Stephen Ludlow, director of estate agents Ludlow Thompson: “It used to be the case that proximity to a tube station was critical to rent and house prices, but now that’s becoming less decisive with the growing band of cyclists. The location of a tucked-away cycle path can be a stronger selling point to a cyclist than a tube stop around the corner.”


Cyclists and cycling infrastructure pushing up the profit on your recent housing acquisition?  It's reason number 12 to love cycling in London!


Post Script:  I'd like to point out that I bit my tongue throughout the writing of this article as I live in a very small rented flat on the top floor of an apartment building with no lift and have to leave my bicycle chained to the railings outside everyday, a privelage for which I pay a lot each month.  It is however extremely close to two Tube stations and a plethora of cycle paths and indeed Zone 1, so huzzah for that.

2 comments:

Mike said...

One of the requirements we gave various estate agents back in 2000 for the house we now live in was the ability to park at least 2 bikes indoors.

At the time they were a little, "Erm, Okaaay..." but nice to see this is now mainstream.

ibikelondon said...

Indeed it seems you're not alone! Thanks for the comment Mike