Where to buy a property in London

Richienotsorich

I'm a first-time-buyer looking to buy in London and trying to work out where the best places are to invest in property in London. I'd prefer to be North or East if possible but at this stage I'm open to suggestions if it means the value of the property is likely to sky-rocket in years to come.

Areas I've heard may be good are Clapton, Dalston, Turnpike Lane, Bow, Walthamstow, Stratford, Leyton and Harringay. Any thoughts?

Jowo_2

Not familiar with all those areas but Walthamstow would be my fave - 20 mins on tube to Oxford Circus, nice village area with a decent pub, cafe and restaurant, cheap market, lots of victorian terraced housing, no huge social housing estates in the centre. No great nightlife or cinema but at least the transport links on the victoria line mean it's not far away.

Oldernotwiser

Do you mean the best place for investment or the best place to live?

moneypenny2k

Have a look around the Royal Docks if you can, plenty of stuff being built at the moment and a lot of investment via the Olympic Infrastructure over the next few years.

Canning Town, though not pretty and it has it's problems is definitely on the up as well.

All the places you mention, apart from Leytonstone are pretty much expensive already.

greenmoneysaver_2

Whats your budget, where do you work, how far do you want to commute, what size/type of property do you want and do you want garden etc?

I know most of those areas well, so give us few more details and we can narrow it down. Avoid Canning Town, prices going no-where, have 2 friends been trying to sell nice flats at ever reducing prices there for 2 years!

jozbo

canning town is cheap but pretty depressing. i would avoid it.

dalston/clapton expensive these days but good for nightlife and socialising plus improved travel now with the overground

leyton getting pretty expensive but you can get 2 bed abrahams (purpose built) victorian flats for 170-200k

leytonstone you could get a 2 up 2 down house for 190-210k

we considered all the above before deciding focusing our search on plumstead/woolwich/abbeywood areas in SE London - 3 bed semis in good nick around 200k, victorian terraces 160-185k

good luck

lynzpower

I'd prefer to be North or East if possible but at this stage I'm open to suggestions if it means the value of the property is likely to sky-rocket in years to come.

How many years are you willing to wait mate, London property prices are pretty decimated Id say, and with the massive unemployment about to be unleashed cant see things being on the up for a good while.

most of those areas have stayed pretty stagnant to be honest.

If you want to live somewhere, do it, biut dont gamble on investment potential in terms of selling in a few years.

Are you familiar with any of these areas?
Which is your favourite?

pararct

Lived in Walthamstow some years back and could be persuaded to do so again if the price and circumstances were right.

If this is a speculative purchase forget it improving in value unless you are prepared to add some real value by improvements over and above the norm. At best prices will bounce along in the next few years at worst you could be looking at 20 -25% down. Reality probably suggests something in the middle.

If however you are looking for somewhere to live list alternatives on the basis of the best transport links to where you work and work back from there. No point in choosing a place with a great village atmosphere and good pubs if you have to spend a an hour + each way back and forward to work. Sooner rather than later the travel issue will start to hack you off and will affect your quality of life.

Richienotsorich

I'm getting the vibe that perhaps now isn't the time for me to get onto the property ladder. I don't want to keep throwing money away on rent if I can be putting it into a mortgage on a house where the value either remains the same or increases, but if there's a good chance that the value will go down then I guess I should just keep on renting until the market bottoms out.

In which case I think I'll stick to the area I love - Stoke Newington / Dalston. The point about my daily commute (to Covent Garden by the way) is a good one though as the transport links do make it longer from there. The easiest route is via the Piccadilly Line but then it's all Arsenal around that line in the North and I'm a Tottenham fan so I may be putting my life and sanity at risk.

lynzpower

I dont think its a BAD time to buy a property, if your convinced your job is secure.

I think its a BAD time to be thinking in investment terms Ie if i buy now and sell in a few years I will make £££, I just dont tihnk its the case, property values will either dip or plateau. If IO mortgages get outlawed, a further dip, if the government states a min deposit, another dip.

If I were in a position to buy right now, I would, prices in London have never been lower IMO, but I can sense they will be getting lower over the next year still due to unemployment issues.

If you are buying a home, what do you care! Values change over time and its not really important until you need or want to sell

Riq

I hear Knightsbridge, Kensington & Primrose Hill especially are nice areas...