Top areas for first-time buyers: London boroughs ranked by house price, Crossrail links and green spaces

House-hunters are looking further afield for that sweet spot of price and lifestyle.
Shore thing: Greenwich has lively restaurants and cafés by the Thames
Daniel Lynch
Ruth Bloomfield27 September 2021

Buyers seeking a location with a perfect storm of affordable homes, great transport links and plenty of green space should get out their Oyster cards and start to explore some of London’s farthest-flung areas.

A new ranking of every borough in the capital has identified Hillingdon and Havering as the best options, based on their house prices, council tax rates, price growth, number of parks and transport facilities.

Hillingdon, with its parks and open spaces, snatches top position thanks to the five Crossrail stations it will have when the line opens next year. The average property in this west London borough costs just over £430,000, up seven per cent in the past year.

Havering, in east London, takes second spot. Its average price is just over £385,000, up five per cent in the past year, and as well as a string of country parks it has three Crossrail stations. Croydon and Hounslow take third and fourth, with Greenwich and Lewisham tying for fifth position. The research was carried out by affordable housing developer Pocket Living.

Hillingdon’s prime location is probably thriving Uxbridge — which feels more small town than London suburb. “You are on the doorstep of the Chiltern Hills yet you are also on the Tube,” said Nick Jordan, managing director of Cameron estate agency.

Uxbridge has two shopping centres, a cinema, the Grand Union Canal, a sports centre and a golf course. Its restaurant scene is chainy, but Jordan said a few independents are popping up. The town lost its retail anchor, Debenhams, during the pandemic.

Property ranges from seven-figure houses near its common, downward. For period housing, the Greenway Conservation Area has smart Victorian and Edwardian houses priced at about £600,000 to £700,000 for a three-bedroom house, or about £300,000 for a one-bedroom flat.

For more bang for your buck, you could look around Bridge Road, south of the town centre, where there are more period houses. These smaller properties have smaller price tags. Think about £400,000 to £550,000 for a three-bedroom semi. Or you could look around Rockingham Road, just north of the centre, where you could buy a three-bedroom Thirties semi for the same sort of price.

Buying agent Laura Johnstone, director of London Home Search, was brought up around Greenwich and has noted more young buyers coming to her to help them find a home in Lee, Lewisham. They are attracted to the area, she said, for its well-priced period housing and its good transport links — trains to Cannon Street or Charing Cross take less than half an hour.

Boxpark street food venue in Croydon which is within easy reach of popular Thornton Heath
Daniel Lynch

“Even with working from home, most people are now going into the office for a couple of days a week and transport links are still important,” she said.

You could pick up a period flat in the area from about £375,000 (slightly less if you go ex-local authority). The downside is that this is a very residential area with none of the café culture and boutiques you find in nearby Hither Green and Blackheath.

Period housing is also what brings young buyers to Thornton Heath, just north of Croydon. Its turn-of-the-century houses and period flats are well priced by London standards. Romael Taylor, branch manager of Barnard Marcus, estimates buyers could get a three-bedroom house for £400,000 to £450,000 or a one-bedroom flat from £200,000 to £250,000. “They are moving out from your Balhams and Batterseas,” he said. “They have been renting, but affordability brings them down here when they want to buy.”

The high street offers cafés and shops, there is a leisure centre, parks and Croydon’s shopping centre is close by. Transport links are another plus point for Thornton Heath with services to London Bridge or Victoria taking about half an hour.

Théophile Ayrinhac is hoping to move into his first home, a shared-ownership flat between Greenwich and Deptford, in the next few weeks
Handout

My new London neighbourhood ticks all the boxes

After moving to London two years ago from his native France, Théophile Ayrinhac rented flats in London Bridge, King’s Cross and Willesden Green.

Having fallen in love with the capital, he decided to put down roots, but none of the areas he had lived in ticked all his boxes.

“I wanted somewhere where you could walk outside and straight into your life,” said Théophile, an analyst for a fintech company. “All the areas I lived in, I ended up having to travel somewhere else.”

Among his travels Théophile, 23, visited friends in Greenwich and fell in love with the area. “To me it was like going on vacation,” he said. “It is close to the river, which I really love, and Greenwich Park is honestly amazing. It is very well connected, I liked all the old naval buildings, and there are lots of restaurants, cafés and shops.”

Price was also a factor. “There are plenty of nice areas which budget-wise did not work,” he said.

Théophile is now in the process of buying a one-bedroom former shared ownership apartment on the borders of Greenwich and Deptford, for £380,000 and hopes to move in by early autumn. “I can’t wait,” he said.

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