London flat prices?

[SchoolOfKnocks]

Cash buyer here - wanting to buy a one bedroom flat in Zone 2, ideally with balcony.

Is it a falling market? Prices seem to have dropped but I'm thinking they may continue to fall. I'm in no rush.

Obviously NO ONE can predict these things and anything could happen! But I was wondering whether anyone has any feeling one way or the other about this....

Plan to keep it indefinitely, it wouldn't be an investment place that I would want to sell in a few years. So really it doesn't matter too much - but on the other hand I would like to buy the best place possible for my money!

I would wait & think very carefully about the area, lease terms, service charges etc. Will you move into it later?

I would also think about future tax hikes to capital gains etc.

@Newhouse76 I know that area quite well. Asking prices have certainly increased but sold prices In not sure

I don't see how prices can keep rising when wages stagnated for so long & will likely stagnate again plus the potential ability for more to work remotely. I know loads of people stuck on the ladder cause their property hasn't gone up much over the last 2-4 yrs. It's much harder to build equity these days.

I was born & raised in London & in the 90s a lot of parts were very grotty so I wonder if that cycle will happen again. We are in z 2/3.

The government are not very interested in FTB, only in propping up house prices and rewarding the large developers handsomely.

Completely agree, I think it ridiculous that young people need to take out 95% mortgages for 35 yrs to prop everything up. It's not a good thing to have so much money tied up in housing plus it helps people on the ladder but not move up.

Those Highgate apartments are lovely. You should definitely take a look. It's a really nice estate halfway between Highgate cemetery and the heath. Lovely place to live.

If you intend hanging on to it as a bolt hole then I think it is worth looking in an area like Vauxhall which is very central but a bit over developed. SO many blocks of flats are being built along the river front that anything that needs to be sold is quite reasonable.

A conversion flat less than 5 minutes walk to the Thames and Vauxhall tube/railway station

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-97528763.html

If you wanted a flat right on the river then there's this one with a balcony with a river view

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-83430916.html

Slightly further away from the river but a conversion with access to the residents only garden square (with a very very famous neighbour)

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-97106951.html

Not sure why some people don't like south of the river. I've spent my life both north and south of the river. Much prefer south!

Londonmummy66 There might be a river view but as with all these highrise 'luxury' flats you are also overlooked by neighbours in the blocks next door. Every time I take the train into Waterloo I am amazed that anyone pays the prices for these flats tbh when there are so many others to choose from.

The Highgate flat is lovely. I looked at a 3 bedroom flat on the Holly Lodge estate - its really lovely and in a great area. At the top of the hill is highgate village with lots of shops, cafes and pubs. At the bottom Swains Lane with wine bars and shops and 5 minutes to Hampstead heath. Lovely.

Highgate is now on the shortlist!

Definitely wait a bit longer and see what happens with Brexit.

I keep an eye on prices in the areas I like, and have noticed that you seem to get FAR better value now for a 2 bed, compared to this time last year. 1 beds don't seem to have had as significant a drop in price.

@JoJoSM2

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70940232.html

That’s what I’d like for a pad in zone 2. Riverside 2-bed with great views, lovely restaurants and the station 3 mins away. There’s also a Virgin Active with a pool on three development.

I find that the developments with onsite gyms/pools etc usually have a whopping service charge to go with it. Fine if you're happy to pay an additional £300-400 a month.

@JoJoSM2

I like those riverside developments in Wandsworth and Battersea. The larger bit of Wandsworth Common isn’t that quick to get from there so Wandsworth Park or the parks in Fulham would be more convenient. But anyway, I don’t imagine people buy bolt holes to spend much time in London parks as they tend to live somewhere much greener anyway.

Actually I was there recently too and I couldn't believe how many high rise developments there were. Most still looking for buyers too, which I imagine they will struggle to find in the current market. I'm always a bit weary of places like that. Reminded me of Canada Water which again feels like high rise central, and feels as though it's solely geared towards those working very locally in corporate roles.

@SchoolOfKnocks

Call me a weirdo but I just can't go South of the river, no rhyme or reason to it I know and I know it's nice there but I'm not a South of the river person.

Also not bothered by gyms or parks. Nice coffee shops and easy access to West End are all I want

Brixton! I know it's south of the river. I was born north of the river and had only ever lived north. Realising I was priced out, and could afford a flat in a nice part of South, rather than a dodgy part of North/East in zone 4, I moved to Brixton and have never looked back. Absolutely loved it there, has everything you could need. Brilliant transport links. Beautiful brockwell park. Herne Hill and Dulwich on it's doorstep. Coffee shops galore, good eateries/bars/pubs etc.

OP haha, no it's a nice old 'estate', no idea why the photo of the garden is so grim, maybe a photographer had a hangover, it's bad angles/lightling . Watrelow park is so nice (good cafe there too).

BUT I personally much prefer the other side of the park off Highgate Hill. It might be slightly more expensive but depends on a specific conversion. I'm not a fan of such huge old blocks like those= and service charges aer higher. The other side if more 'normal' Victorian and Edwardian ones, alo a couple of modern but nice 80s complexes (there's a gated one wih balconies, 4 storey I think, with parking) where I stayed a lot as a guest, with great views towards the Shard - but those flats don't come up often and possibly you prefer more character / higer ceilings.
Anyway lots of older ones there, and closer to Archway tube which takes you to the West End (Charing Cross) in about 20min. I was always a lover of Kensington before, but I was really charmed by Highgate. It is quite small though as an area, main (narrowish) streets get busy in rush hour but away from that it's quiet, several very good old pubs, couple of bookshops, and cafes (Gail's included).

*Waterlow

Brixton is great for traansport but imo too crowded/busy, and still a bit edgy / not sure if it's that safe walking at night there from tube. Great for London vibe but it suits the young more imo - or hte edgy old .

Since when is Brixton ‘nice’? It only started being ‘up-an-coming’ in the last few years.

@JoJoSM2 Brixton has been nice for a long time. I lived there 7 years ago and it had up and gone by then.

@CatAndHisKit

Brixton is great for traansport but imo too crowded/busy, and still a bit edgy / not sure if it's that safe walking at night there from tube. Great for London vibe but it suits the young more imo - or hte edgy old .

I used to walk home from the tube but I lived quite close. There aren't many places I've lived in London I would happily walk home late at night on my own.

Oh dear me no, I'm too old for Brixton 🤪

Also wary of those modern blocks with their service charges and gyms that I would never use

@AbsentmindedWoman that is very interesting, about 2 bedroom places. Ultimately they are more saleable, and some time in the future the DCs would inherit it so a 2 bedroom place might be better from that point of view. Just didn't think i could afford one in my preferred areas. We shall see.

@CatAndHisKit I hear you 🤣 - I'm sure that's a lovely old block. Just couldn't equate the back with the front somehow - but I think it's mainly because the building is plain at the back but has gables (? sort of) at the front. Kensington lover here too, BTW. Thanks for your tips about the area of Highgate - funny how I know Hampstead and SJW well, but not Highgate. That's Londoners I think - quite parochial.

Thanks all for your comments. I never expected a cut and dried answer but this has made for an interesting exchange of thoughts.

The Holly Lodge estate is really lovely, and the area is full of character and history and also great for coffee shops, cafes and access to central London. I'd definitely go for that over a soulless modern development.

[quote kirinm]@JoJoSM2 Brixton has been nice for a long time. I lived there 7 years ago and it had up and gone by then.[/quote]
I think JoJo thinks the riots happened 10yrs ago...

I've often walked back late (2/3am) and never felt unsafe. It's a fairly busy area so I guess that helps. For the record, I bought in Forest Hill in the end. Seems I was priced out of Brixton too