Future hotspots: where London's first-time buyers should start their search for new homes and shared-ownership flats

Prices are falling, stamp duty has been cut and more shared-ownership deals are being launched in outer zones and regeneration hotspots.
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David Spittles22 October 2018

After a period when first-time buyers never had it so bad, with rising prices and mortgage rules making it impossible for many to step on to the property ladder, the future looks brighter.

Prices in London are falling. Stamp duty has been cut. More lenders are offering low-deposit 95 per cent loans and more shared-ownership deals are being launched.

Incomes are rising, interest rates are set to stay low for some time yet, and with, perhaps, a general election looming there is a prospect of more government help for first-time buyers. Developers are dangling helpful incentives, too.

All this is making homes more affordable. Right now in London buying is roughly 10 per cent cheaper than private renting, with typical costs of £1,275 a month when buying, and £1,387 when renting, meaning a “saving” of £112 a month plus the chance of building up some equity.

Ever-resourceful buyers are going to great lengths to boost their purchasing power, say lenders and housing associations, whose research shows more young Londoners are taking on second jobs and working overtime.

They are also making everyday financial sacrifices, selling possessions online, cancelling their gym membership, foregoing holidays, walking or cycling to work and even growing their own vegetables.

Hearteningly, a good many inner-city areas as well as outer travel zones are within the budget of first-time buyers, with many homes in the £250,000-£500,000 bracket.

These areas are, of course, cheaper for a reason. It may be due to the presence of edgy council estates, blighted industrial land or poorer transport links.

But the chances are such places will improve as regeneration takes hold. Some are already in transition and if you can buy into them before they become hipster hotspots, then you will be ahead of the game when you choose to sell and move on.

WHERE TO LOOK SOUTH OF THE RIVER

Priced out of the centre and even Zone 2, most buyers are heading further south or further east, traditionally the cheaper sides of London.

“Our research shows a real shift south through Lambeth and Lewisham and a push east through Hackney and Newham,” says Hamptons International, which has branches across the capital.

South-of-the-river first-time buyer territory takes in Catford, Plumstead, Woolwich, Eltham, South Norwood, Streatham, Sutton and Croydon. Most south-east London areas have quick rail links to the centre.

There is plenty of open green space, a seemingly endless stock of modestly priced Victorian and interwar houses that can be reconfigured for modern living, plus a swelling number of new housing projects as developers tap into rising demand.

The vastly improved Overground network has brought areas such as Forest Hill and Sydenham in from the cold. Crossrail will be a game changer for Woolwich and bordering areas such as Charlton, while the proposed Bakerloo line extension from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham is set to be the capital’s next major Tube upgrade and is already causing property ripples.

New Cross Gate will be a big Bakerloo line beneficiary. This transport interchange is already plugged into the Overground and also offers five-minute train hops to London Bridge, a fast Thameslink service to Gatwick and a one-stop connection to the Jubilee line.

For many years the area’s only two attractions were Goldsmiths College, where Damien Hirst studied fine art, and The Venue, a lively nightclub. But things are changing. Young singles and couples — not just public sector key workers, but Canary Wharf and City types, too — are finding homes.

Bond House, next to the station, has 77 flats plus an art gallery. Prices from £469,950. Call Crest Nicholson on 020 3437 1663.

Nearby Deptford and Greenwich are other well-connected inner Zone 2 areas where prices are still within the reach of many first-timers.

Developments include Greenwich Square, with prices from £325,000, call 020 7531 2516. River Gardens has prices from £445,000, call 0845 257 6065, and homes at Maritime start from £409,950, call 020 3918 7831.

Greenwich River Gardens has flats from £445,000

Part of Brixton’s appeal is its Zone 2 status at the end of the Victoria line, one reason why newcomers continue to arrive. Once a sedate railway suburb, with Victorian department stores attracting shoppers from across London, today it is a truly urban place — with all that implies.

As well as having lively entertainment venues, there’s a growing art scene and trendy eateries and bars. The Volt is a new scheme of 14 apartments less than five minutes’ walk from the Tube station. Prices start from £425,000, with shared ownership available. Call 020 3815 2222 for more details.

The buyer: Norwood Junction

Julia Baugh, 32, a childcare support manager, was fed up with renting a shabby flat in a Victorian house conversion in Streatham. So she researched affordable areas where she could buy a stylish, maintenance-free new home convenient for her job in Croydon. Paxton House at under-the-radar Norwood Junction came up trumps.

Julie Baugh bought a one-bed flat in Norwood Junction for £330,000
S Saunders / Digital Nation Photography

This remodelled office conversion has 43 flats behind a façade of vertical timber louvres. Julia paid £330,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.

“I thought I was going to have to compromise but I haven’t at all,” she says. “My flat is dual aspect, has outside space and underfloor heating. It’s comfortable and it feels fashionable, too.”

Joseph Homes, the developer, has just unveiled The Tramyard, Balham. Prices from £499,999. Call 020 8767 3655.

WHERE TO LOOK IN EAST LONDON

Going east of the capital on the north side of the Thames, areas falling into favour include Beckton, Barking, Canning Town, Leyton, Bow and Walthamstow.

Bow, conveniently located between Canary Wharf and Stratford, has new canalside homes plus flats in new towers. Three Waters has 300 new homes at the confluence of Bow Creek, River Lea and Limehouse Cut, a former industrial zone, now a buzzing tech and creative enclave. From £365,000. Call 020 7776 5755.

Adding zest is Lime Quarter, next to Devons Road DLR station, where high-rise flats start at £485,000. Call 020 7531 2500.

Three Waters – an urban collection of over 300 new homes, 109 of which will be affordable – located in Bow Creek, E3

For many years Walthamstow wasn’t even the bottom rung of the housing ladder, merely a staging post that led to somewhere else.

But a town centre facelift, new cafés, late bars and a farmers’ market mean the area is hugely popular with home buyers.

Artists priced out of inner east London are also moving in. Located at the other end of the Victoria line from Brixton, it’s easy to get a rush-hour seat.

Walthamstow Gateway is a new development of 79 flats moments from the Tube station, which has been given a makeover and an improved public realm. The homes are a step up for the area, having Leicht kitchens, oak flooring and fast-fibre broadband. Buyers also get a two-year Zipcar membership. Prices from £399,950. Call 020 3296 2222.

The buyers: Walthamstow

First-time buyers Bart Vangeneugden and Louise Gookey started house hunting in north London but “struggled to find anything within our budget that wasn’t too old or too small”.

A priority was to have two bedrooms, one for an office, as both work from home quite a lot. Bart, 31, is a software engineer for Expedia based at Angel, and Louise, also 31, is a corporate trainer.

Expanding their search area, they finally settled for Walthamstow, because of the rail links and the value for money. Their all-new two-bedroom flat at Walthamstow Gateway cost just under £500,000.

Bart Vangeneugden and Louise Gookey bought their first home in Walthamstow
Elaine Sutton Photography

The spotlight will fall on the area next year as Waltham Forest has been chosen as the first “London Borough of Culture”. Exciting events are planned.

Walthamstow has a history of crafts and manufacturing, and one of the area’s highlights is William Morris Gallery, historic home of the influential Victorian designer.

A high street project called The Scene, in homage to movie legend Alfred Hitchcock, who was born locally, has brought 121 smart flats, eateries and a much-needed cinema to the district.

Across the road is the town’s restored Victorian library, built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, while the Walthamstow Wetlands project aims to create Europe’s largest urban wetland park by transforming 10 Victorian reservoirs into leisure and amenity spaces.

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