Buying in Bow: shared ownership flats in east London hotspot amid parks and a vibrant social scene

This East End ‘island’ surrounded by great parks is being reborn. Flats from £91k aimed at young Londoners are in the mix.
1/7
Ruth Bloomfield15 February 2019

Over the next 10 years some 8,000 new homes will be built in Bow, an old-school East End “island” bounded by three of London’s best parks.

Most Londoners know the Olympic Park, Victoria Park, and Mile End Park, but not necessarily the neighbourhood they border.

Once the site of an 11th-century nunnery, later a centre of London’s porcelain industry and a suffragette stronghold, Bow suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War and was smothered in low-grade social housing in the years afterwards.

However, Bow’s old industrial buildings and council estates are now being reborn as sites for new homes, with the added inducement of new restaurants, cafés and shops, plus the opening up of the River Lea which runs just to the east.

Representing fantastic value for Zone 2, the average Bow property costs £400,000 according to Rightmove, while a typical flat would cost £392,000.

For first-time buyers who would struggle to raise a 10 per cent deposit of almost £40,000, there is now a third way.

New shared-ownership homes at Bow East are set to go on sale on February 23, priced from £91,250 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat valued at £365,000.

Buyers will need to raise a deposit of just under £10,000, and each month their costs stack up to just under £1,230 including rent of £627.34, service charge of £134.64, plus mortgage repayments estimated at £468.

There are also two-bedroom flats, priced from £111,750 for a 25 per cent share. Buyers will need to budget for monthly outgoings of just under £1,500, including rent of £807.81, service charge of £139.77 and mortgage repayments of about £546.

Investing in Bow East will mean buying into the regeneration of the area. As well as thousands of homes, there are plans for new schools and parks, to help upgrade Bow’s infrastructure.

From £91,250: 25 per cent of a one-bedroom flat at Bow East, through L&Q

For commuting, Bow Road station has District and Hammersmith & City line Tube and Docklands Light Railway services. The journey to either Canary Wharf or the City would take around 20 minutes.

“As more Londoners discover Bow’s fantastic commuting links and increasingly vibrant social scene, it becomes harder for young professionals and families to find affordable housing in the area,” says Gavin Stewart, sales and customer services director of housing association L&Q’s east region.

“Through our shared-ownership scheme, we are offering a real opportunity to these buyers, with deposits starting at under £10,000 and monthly payments often lower than renting.”

Although Bow is well served for green space, it is currently an area in flux. It has not entirely shrugged off its grimy, grotty reputation.

But Stewart points out that Bow East is moments from Bow Arts, with its programme of yoga classes, film screenings and performance art, while Roman Road Market is good for fruit, veg and cheap clothes.

Until Bow’s new facilities come on stream, most locals are likely to head to Stratford or Victoria Park for pubs, restaurants, bars and shops. There are, of course, already local shops and pubs, but boozers rather than gastropubs.

There are also plenty of cafés along Bow Road, although — snowflakes beware — they are more likely to serve pie, mash and liquor than avocado on toast.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in