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Estate agent Savills has analysed the impact of house prices in 24 locations where a bypass had been opened in the past 10 years. Its analysts studied house sales recorded by the Land Registry to calculate the uplift in value for affected properties before and after the construction of the bypass.
Overall, residents of towns and villages freed from the blight of through-traffic thanks to the construction of a bypass gain an average 15.3% boost to the value of their homes in addition to any underlying market-led price movement in the wider area.
In Rothwell, Northamptonshire, property values rose by 30% after the A6 bypass was built.
The report found that this value boost occurs very soon after construction. Prices then revert to behaving in line with average price movements within their region. A study of properties bought and resold within two years before and after the opening of a bypass showed an almost immediate average 13.8% boost to values.
This contrasts with other major transport improvements where there is usually a degree of property speculation when the project is announced, followed by progressive price growth, as wealthier demand is drawn to an area over time in anticipation of improved connectivity. In the case of a bypass, the traffic blight remains until the bypass opens and values appear to remain suppressed as a result.
"Clearly, properties closest to main thoroughfares will benefit most from a bypass," said Savills research director Lucian Cook, "but this research shows that a bypass can lift the appeal of a town or village as whole."
Bypass value uplift table
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