3,059,858 People use Sidcup Train Station a year - How does that affect the Sidc

It might surprise you that it isn't always the poshest areas around Sidcup or the swankiest Sidcup streets where properties sell and let the quickest. Quite often, it's the ones that have the best transport links. I mean, there is a reason why one of the most popular property programmes on television is called Location, Location, Location!

As an agent in Sidcup, I am frequently confronted with queries about the Sidcup property market, and most days I am asked, “What is the best part of Sidcup and its areas to live in these days?”, chiefly from new-comers. Now the answer is different for each person – a lot depends on the demographics of their family, their age, schooling requirements and interests etc. Nonetheless, one of the principal necessities for most tenants and buyers is ease of access to transport links, including public transport – of which the railways are very important.

Official figures recently released state that, in total, 4,203 people jump on a train each and every day from Sidcup Train station. Of those, 2,857 are season ticket holders. That's a lot of money being spent when a season ticket, standard class, to London is £2,408 a year.So, if up to £6.88m is being spent on rail season tickets each year from Sidcup, those commuters must have some impressive jobs and incomes to allow them to afford that season ticket in the first place. That means demand for middle to upper market properties remains strong in Sidcup and the surrounding area and so, in turn, these are the type of people whom are happy to invest in the Sidcup buy to let market – providing homes for the tenants of Sidcup…

The bottom line is that property values in Sidcup would be much lower, by at least 3% to 4%, if it wasn't for the proximity of the railway station and the people it serves in the suburb

And this isn't a flash in the pan. Rail is becoming increasingly important as the costs associated with car travel continue to rise and roads are becoming more and more congested. This has resulted in a huge surge in rail travel.

Overall usage of the station at Sidcup has increased over the last 20 years. In 1997, a total of 1,879,636 people went through the barriers or connected with another train at the station in that 12-month period. However, in 2016, that figure had risen to 3,059,858 people using the station (that's 8,406 people a day).

The juxtaposition of the property and the train station has an important effect on the value and saleability of a Sidcup property. It is also significant for tenants – so if you are a Sidcup buy to let investor looking for a property – the distance to and from the railway station can be extremely significant.

One of the first things house buyers and tenants do when surfing the web for somewhere to live is find out the proximity of a property to the train station. That is why Rightmove displays the distance to the railway station alongside each and every property on their website. For more thoughts on the Sidcup Property market – please keep reading the Sidcup Property Blog.

Why not download our FREE eGuide ' How To Make Your Home Valuable And Sell Quickly':Want to know the potential Sales or Rental value of your property? – use our FREE instant Online Valuation tool to give you a guide in less than 60 secondsRead more articles: Why not read more of our articles on the Sidcup Property Blog click here

Speak to me: If you'd like to have a chat about anything in this article or property related, drop me an email at pj.long@drewery.co.uk – I'd love to hear from you.

Paul Long (Director & Author of The Sidcup Property Blog)