The average London first time buyer spends £450,000 on a home, according to data from UK Finance.
But exclusive research by Savills for Homes & Property shows there are still many parts of the capital where you can pick up a starter home for less than £300,000 — a figure based on the average sale price of the cheapest 25 per cent of homes sold in the postcode.
These are the ones to watch.
Forest Gate, E7
- Average price: £297,000
- Deposit: £44,550
- Monthly repayments: £1,496
- Minimum household income: £56,222
Do not let its shabby first impression fool you. Forest Gate is not luxe, but it should not be overlooked. Thanks to the Elizabeth line, you can now get to the West End in about 20 minutes. It has plentiful green space, its Victorian housing stock is ripe for renovation and a clutch of interesting new businesses has popped up in the railway arches around the station, hinting at a Peckham-style rebirth.
Jessica Elizabeth Horton moved to Forest Gate for purely practical reasons: she could afford it and the transport links were good. She found a welcoming community, loads of interesting places to hang out and a new career trajectory.
Horton, now 37, and her partner, Robert Leech, 40, had been paying out £1,800pcm for a tiny two-bedroom house in Walthamstow.
“We were looking to buy and when we compared what we could get in Forest Gate to what we could get in Walthamstow it was a bit of a no-brainer,” she says.
In 2018, Horton (who was then head of design at Warehouse and Oasis) and Leech (a teacher) spent £450,000 on a run-down two up, two down that they set about renovating and furnishing.
Horton charted the progress of her work on Instagram. The enthusiastic reception she received for her refurb inspired her to pivot her career into interior design; she set up her own studio earlier this year (deorling.co.uk).
When not stripping wallpaper and sourcing antiques, Horton discovered Forest Gate was a more interesting neighbourhood than she had suspected.
“It has a real sense of community,” she says. “I have lots of friends who have moved here, and since Covid the community has been incredible. All the neighbours talk to each other, we have a street WhatsApp group and if anyone needs anything we all help.”
Pearl, the couple’s French bulldog, enjoys walks on Wanstead Flats, and Stratford is up the road for shopping. Horton recommends organic wines at Dina, foodie pop-ups hosted at the Pretty Decent Beer Company taproom and potato pie at Joyau.
Horton and Leech’s journey into home ownership has been life changing. And while they did not have to contend with the cost-of-living crisis and soaring interest rates back in 2018, their strategy of looking for an up-and-coming pocket of value and opting for a home with potential to be upgraded still makes sense.
Lee, SE12
- Average price: £257,500
- Deposit: £38,625
- Monthly repayments: £1,297
- Minimum household income: £48,650
This low-key postcode offers buyers way more bang for their buck than its neighbours, Blackheath Village and Hither Green, and its value for money plus great train links make it a serious contender for first-time buyers on a budget.
Trains from Lee to London Bridge take less than 15 minutes. Leafiness is provided by Manor House Gardens, a Victorian park with lake, a walled flower garden, tennis courts and a playground.
Locals hang out at Brockley Taproom or The Lord Northbrook, and there are enough shops on Burnt Ash Road for basic everyday needs. For more in the way of café culture, Hither Green is a half hour walk away.
Over the past few years Graham Lawes, area sales director at JLL, has seen Lee benefit from a ripple of buyers making the move from more expensive postcodes. “You have got the same sort of property as in Blackheath, but it is 50 per cent cheaper,” he says.
These new arrivals have brought with them colonial shutters, side return extensions and an overall sense of affluence and optimism to the area.
“The infrastructure and the housing stock were always there,” says Lawes. “It also feels safe. In south-east London, where you cannot open a paper without reading about another stabbing, Lee is much calmer, it is clean, there is no graffiti.”
Crystal Palace, SE19
- Average price: £295,000
- Deposit: £44,250
- Monthly repayments: £1,486
- Minimum household income: £55,730
One of those places that is less expensive than you might think, Crystal Palace just edges in under the £300,000 mark.
This is despite its good transport links — trains to Victoria, London Bridge or Blackfriars all take about half an hour and the Overground links the area to Canary Wharf.
The greatest local landmark is the eponymous dinosaur sculpture-dotted park, and you can find good bars, restaurants and shops on the triangle formed by Westow Street, Westow Hill and Church Road.
There’s no need to cook at the weekend because the Crystal Palace Food Market has a great range of street food stalls, and you can work it off at the well-equipped sports centre.
Locals rave about Crystal Palace’s community vibe, and the Crystal Palace Community Trust certainly keeps busy, with classes in everything from art to salsa. There’s an annual summer arts festival, a music festival in the park and a film festival.
Lawes says that many buyers move to Crystal Palace from east London. “They are looking for the sort of vibe you get in Brixton or Peckham, but for less money,” he says.
“The high street is really busy and vibrant, you’ve got bars and restaurants, delis and micro breweries, and because there is a really good mix of properties people tend to stay on once they are here.”
Manor Park, E12
- Average price: £266,000
- Deposit: £39,900
- Monthly repayments: £1,340
- Minimum household income: £51,100
Another beneficiary of the Elizabeth line, Manor Park is well connected and — by London standards — very affordable, which is why many first-time buyers who had aspired to a home in Walthamstow have plumped for a home in E12 instead.
Admittedly Manor Park lacks Walthamstow’s trendy restaurants and bars, but the railway arches in Avenue Road are being filled up with new cafes, and it has plenty of green space with Wanstead Flats on the doorstep.
Property ranges from new homes being built in the area to Victorian and Edwardian terraces, often divided up into flats.
While Manor Park’s high street, Romford Road, is pretty dismal to look at, Newham council has drawn up plans to upgrade it with new lights and trees, smarter shop fronts and street art.
Hampton, TW12
- Average price: £292,000
- Deposit: £43,800
- Monthly repayments: £1,471
- Minimum household income: £55,155
Bounded by the Thames, Bushy Park and Kempton Park, Hampton is an island of affordability in south-west London.
Chris and Laura Loy, 35 and 39 respectively, became accidental residents in 2020 and they are thrilled to have discovered this quaint, pretty and well-connected neighbourhood.
Before the move, the couple — who work in communications — were renting a one-bedroom flat in Hammersmith. This started to get crowded after the birth of their son, Otis, and they began house hunting in Ealing.
When the pandemic struck they had just agreed to pay £680,000 for a two-bedroom house, but financial uncertainties caused by Covid made them rethink their plans.
On the recommendations of friends they began a house hunt in Hampton, where homes were better value. And in 2020, the family moved to a three-bedroom house which cost them £595,000.
The extra room proved handy after the birth of their daughter, Margot. “We didn’t know Hampton at all before we moved here, but it is gorgeous,” says Chris.
“Bushy Park is amazing, there are some wonderful old pubs like the Jolly Coopers and the Railway Bell, and a few nice little restaurants around. And the train to Waterloo takes 40 minutes.”
Other attractions include a lido, open air cinema and comedy nights at Hampton Hill Theatre. Chris admits TW12 might not suit party animals — pubs are the main form of nightlife, although café Grind and Steam transforms into a cocktail bar at night.
“It is definitely a more family, suburban lifestyle,” says Chris. “But we love it, we have the best of both worlds here.”
