The ‘Olympic effect’ on house prices in the cities of the host countries has been well documented, however, a comparison between Manchester, home of the 2002 Commonwealth games and London suggests that Olympic-driven house price increases in East London may be considerably lower than East Manchester’s, but like Manchester, sharply defined and local to the area of the games.

Analysis by Hometrack, a property data services company reveals the impact the Manchester Commonwealth games had on the value of properties and draws on parallels between East Manchester and East London.

Similarly to London, the east of Manchester is the poorer area of the city. However in the heart of East Manchester, Ancoats & Clayton and Bradford which were the focal points of regeneration and home to the main hub of sporting activity at the 2002 commonwealth games have seen property prices rise the most since 2001 by a staggering 197% and 181% respectively.

Areas surrounding the Sports City such as Moston and Charleston have also clearly benefited from the regeneration projects and are amongst the highest risers in Manchester with property prices increasing by 162% and 140% respectively since 2001. In contrast the average property price increase in the whole of Manchester from 2001 is only 72%

Mark Witherspoon, chief executive of Hometrack comments; "With Manchester hosting the Commonwealth games it created a focus which attracted a range of other initiatives and investment opportunities to the new East Manchester. Momentum was gained from investment in the world class sporting facilities which presented a new image to the commercial world."

"There are obvious parallels to be made between East Manchester and East London. The Lea Valley in East London is the poorer cousin in the capital but it is set to benefit greatly in the forthcoming years. A new east London is fast emerging with much regeneration work currently underway and the already successful transformation of the Docklands. The win will create massive investment to the area, creating new jobs, homes and improved transport links which will all positively impact on house prices in the surrounding areas."

"We will not see the same phenomenal percentage increase in property prices in East London as in East Manchester as the housing market has slowed. However over the next year Hometrack predicts house price inflation in Stratford, the home to the Olympic stadium to increase by around 10%. And over the next seven years we predict prices to rocket by as much as 50% as demand from property investors hits an all time high."