East Dulwich Specifics

[bolshoii]

DP and I are looking to move from Maze Hill to East Dulwich. Reason being we need a bigger house/garden and price per sq foot appears to be much cheaper in East Dulwich.

We have been looking in East Dulwich for over a year and have found nothing. Prices have remained quite stagnant in that time, but it seems naturally large properties are hard to come by. Most of what we see are 3 beds that have been converted to 4 beds that go for c£950k. These houses, although they are quite balanced and have a back extension so that the downstairs footprint matches the upstairs footprint, they do not 'feel' large. They often look small from the outside and the hallway/ceiling proportions are odd.

We don't know the area well, but wondering if anyone knows of specific roads that have these 'naturally' large terraces/semi's? I know of Woodward Road, Eynella Road, but these are often £1.5m+ for a 4 bed as they are close to the Village. Are there other roads in ED where we can find naturally large properties for under £1.1m?

Short answer is no. You are going to have look further away, towards West Dulwich, Forest Hill, Nunhead etc.

I don't think there are any in ED
It was built as a working class area with smaller terraces.
The natural 4 beds will be in the village, and around Peckham Rye, and the north Dulwich triangle
Lots of natural 4 beds will have been extended to 5 beds now so not sure you'll get any within your budget, sorry

If you are looking at Estate Agents, I would recommend kfh, they know the area well. Foxtons tend to over-value.

As the two PPs have said, ED is out of your budget if you want a large house for £1.1m. We didn't look so much towards Peckham or Forest Hill, but going by the last year, during which we viewed and eventually purchased in a similar area, you might find something in West Norwood - particularly if you cross over hte Norwood Road/Knights Hill boundary from West Dulwich - or Streatham Common. But really, you're a bit underfunded for ED if you want space.

Do you really, really need more space? Lovey as ed is (the roads you mention are technically Dulwich btw) the transport links aren't as good as Maze Hill/ Greenwich. I think the dire housing situation is fuelled by the arms race to get a bigger garden/ bedrooms for all/ guest room/ study/ white box extension.
Apologies if not and you are presently overcrowded.

Apocalypse, stamp duty plays a huge part in that though
We bought a house that was 'too big' for us, because we didn't want to face another massive bill
At £1.1m, OP will be facing a stamp duty bill of over £50k so buying a house that will do 'for now' doesn't make sense

Just to give perspective, this is what I consider to be natural 4 beds;

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55129787.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37687293.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55800749.html

The above are on the small side for 4 beds, but they have the natural proportions. Need about 150sqm of space.

Definitely need 4 bedrooms as we will be a multi generational set up in the near future.

I understand where you are coming from, and 2 of those properties are more like 3 beds and a box room.

I'm afraid you'll be lucky to find anything in ED any larger that fits your budget. Is there a particular reason for ED - there are other areas nearby where your money will go further?

ED area seemed a good compromise for the commitments we have in London. We need to be south as have responsibilities in East London and also SW London. So need a 'midpoint' type location in South London.

Do you know of any roads in ED where you have the type of property we are looking for? We could stretch to £1.5m (but don't want to really), but the Woodwarde area doesn't appeal, so wondering if there are other roads?

Will, if you stretch above 1.1m, you get over the stamp duty barrier. For 1.5m you should have no problem. It would be worth having a drive around to get a feel for the size of houses on the various streets, most are Victorian and they were quite fussy about placing similar size houses together.

this sort of area has the larger housing stock:

Lovely, thank you so much!

I think we did view a property on Belvoir Road but it was an absolute mess structurally and too much work for us.

I did note though that houses there seemed a little cheaper than those nearer Goose Green. Surprised me as the transport at this end seems better with Honor Oak/Forest Hill walking distance (at pace).

What about New Cross Gate/ Telegraph Hill? Some of the terraces are 200sqm. Bit cheaper than ED and access to Overground/Thameslink. Still a bit rough and ready though.

Does it have to be ED?

Camberwell Grove and Grove Lane nearby in SE5 have wonderful huge houses.

If you could go to SE4, the conservation area in Brockley has amazing, huge houses on several key roads around Hilly Fields. Lots have been carved up into flats but as the area has gentrified they are being restored. Look around Hilly Fields park at Wickham, Tressillian, Breakspears, and Tyrwhitt roads. Depending on which end you're in, you have choice of overground at Brockley, or rail and DLR from St Johns / Deptford Bridge or Lewisham.

MissTurnstiles

Thanks for the SE4 suggestion. Have looked online and there are some very good value property needing restoration that are absolutely huge. Extremely tempted.

I do know Brockley well but never considered looking there as I have 3 good friends that were viciously attacked near Wickham road 8 years ago when they were at Goldsmiths. There is a huge estate on that road, I wonder if that has also gentrified since then?

I never thought this would be so difficult. We are running out of time (for a number of reasons) and really need to move asap (or stay put and extend)

I bought my house through ED kfh. Suffice to say when I come to sell I will give the house away before paying them commission
Where are you try into get to regularly? Round Denmark Hill (just up the hill from ED) gets you to CJ, Wandsworth, Victoria, the City, canary wharf etc, all very easily.

Whats wrong with ED KFH?

We need to get to Sutton, Bank, Canary Wharf on a very regular basis.

Another vote for Brockley OP. I have a flat on the Wickham Rd "estate" (it's not really an estate, it's pretty well integrated into the area and not a no-go zone) and it is incredibly safe, quiet and secure around here.

I lived at the north end of Wickham Road (so near the junction with Lewisham Way) from 2005-10. I never experienced any violent crime or felt unsafe but our car was broken into twice (it's on-street parking only). Despite the speed bumps it is quite busy as it's the widest of the parallel roads leading south from Lewisham to Brockley. The north end is certainly scruffier but the trade-off is the easier access to the rail and DLR and the masses of buses which run along Lewisham Way. There are low-rise council blocks on Wickham but I really wouldn't describe them as huge, especially compared to the Dog Kennel Hill estate opposite ED station.

I think you'd be surprised at how much Brockley has changed with the arrival of the overground. Worth a trip on a Saturday morning - there is a brilliant foodie market in the car park of Lewisham College.

Equally, to return to SE5, many of the big houses on Grove Lane and Camberwell Grove have garages behind them.

Just re-read my final paragraph and realise that it sounds like a bit of a non-sequitur. My thought process was: vehicle crime on Wickham Road means you might want to reconsider SE5, and incidentally some of those houses have garages, which is unusual in SE London.

For closer to ED station - the larger 4 beds (ie they are 4 beds before they are extended so those with loft conversions will now be 5 beds) are Derwent Grove, Elsie Road and Ashbourne Grove. On the SE15 side Oglander Road, Marsden Road and Muschamp are definitely worth a look if anything is on there. Further from the station Mundania, Therapia (although possibly out of budget as they're huge houses) or the 1950s type ones around Scutari and Homestall Roads. Good luck!