Shared-ownership homes in Royal Docks: first-time buyer flats from £80k for investors willing to play the waiting game

Shared-ownership flats are part of the mix in the new £3.7bn Docklands revival.
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Ruth Bloomfield19 August 2019

To the Victorians, Royal Albert Dock was a thriving city within a city, with three miles of quayside welcoming ships from around the world and an entrance to the River Thames at Gallions Reach.

After being mothballed for almost 40 years, life is returning to this largest of London’s three Royal Docks, with new building projects including a 6,000,000sq ft business park and up to 1,500 new homes being developed by housing association Notting Hill Genesis.

Royal Albert Wharf will have new facilities including shops, several cafés and an event space run by Bow Arts artist studios. Further down the line a gym and nursery are planned, while next door another new development, Gallions Quarter, will feature a public square lined with more shops and cafés.

The regeneration of the Royal Docks promises to bring the biggest change to east London since Canary Wharf, with homes for 60,000 people and £3.7 billion-worth of investment.

Soak up the fun: London's Royal Docks have a new lease of life as a thriving water sports centre

Royal Albert Wharf is within view of London City airport. However, first-time buyers who don’t mind a little noise can buy a share of a home at the development from just over £80,000 (nhgsales.com).

Well-connected homes

The nearest station is Gallions Reach on the Docklands Light Railway in Zone 3, with direct services to Bank and Canary Wharf taking about half an hour. When Crossrail is up and running commutes to the West End, via Canning Town, will be speeded up, too.

Flightpath noise aside, this area is very much still in flux. A lot of the planned new amenities are several years away. Right now the main local landmarks are the skeleton frameworks of part-built blocks of flats and the many newly planted trees that still look spindly.

The area isn’t desperately green, though the fairly basic New Beckton Park and the ethereal and splendid Thames Barrier Park are both within walking distance. Gallions Reach Shopping Park has a supermarket plus some basic chain shops and restaurants.

Buyers willing to play a bit of a waiting game to see how the Royal Docks shape up can buy a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat from £81,250.

What else can I buy?

Right now, E16 is one of London’s most economical postcodes, with the average home costing £437,000.

Property prices have stayed moderately stable over the past difficult year for the capital’s housing market, and five years ago the average price in the area stood at just £278,000.

There are hundreds of homes around the Royal Docks, ranging from seven-figure penthouse apartments to one-bedroom flats in one of the area’s handful of Eighties and Nineties developments, priced for less than £250,000.

First-time buyers with a budget of about £350,000 could pick up a two-bedroom purpose-built apartment.

Agent Henry Wiltshire International has a two-bedroom flat in a gated development in Barge House Road, close to the river, with an asking price of £349,950.

For £400,000 you could forget apartment living and buy one of the area’s former workers cottages.

SmoothMove estate agent has a two-bedroom house in Boxley Street, priced at offers over £400,000.

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