To ask which areas of London are still ‘affordable’ for buying property?

[Acapulco12]

Looking for some advice on which areas in London are best (ie most affordable) for buying a property.

I’m a first time buyer looking for a house (rather than a flat), but willing to compromise on space for location and condition. I’d prefer to have a smaller house - but which doesn’t need a huge amount of work immediately - in a more central area that’s close to transport links. I’m happy to do work on the house over the years though - just would prefer to move in somewhere that doesn’t need a complete immediate renovation job.

Any advice on areas I could look at please?

I’ve been looking mainly at Streatham and really like that area (nice parks, good amenities and shops, have visited the area a few times and it still seems kind of affordable-ish). I also looked at Ealing and Acton, but I think those are out of my price range. I know this is a tricky question, as lots of variables, but grateful for any advice.

Hi, I moved to streatham about one year ago (FTB) after living in Wandsworth and Clapham and think it’s similar to a lot of areas of London in that it has good areas and bad areas. I don’t think it’s as bad as some are making it out to be (not sure how it could have gone “downhill?”). For reference I live about a 5 minute walk from the Rookery cafe in Streatham Common and this area seems very quiet and feels quite open/less urban. Never had any issues with any neighbours and this part of Streatham generally seems very quiet. The high street isn’t as nice as other places in London and some local favourites have closed down but this is the same situation as many other places in the UK (i work in property/commercial real estate).

That said I miss being able to go walk for a potter about and a coffee as most nice cafes/ shops are located in Balham or Crystal Palace and the trains can be a pain!

Plumstead / Abbey Wood / Woolwich - great transport links with the Elizabeth line now and lovely green spaces. Can still get Victorian /Edwardian houses for approx £400k

Where are your friends? Where do you work? E.g. SE. That'll help narrow it. As there's places all over London, but you need to focus on an area probably

Re Plumstead / Abbey Wood

A slightly bigger budget like the original poster will get something like this

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150186929

But even a smaller budget (less than £400k) can get a detached Victorian house when they come up https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149491133