SE London house prices

[JonahDay]

Me and my family are returning to London after a long time as ex pats. We are planning to return in time for our DC to start the new school year next September and we have secured places at a school for them already.
Due to Covid we have not been able to come back to the U.K. as planned to house hunt. We have family members who are going to help us instead (viewing on our behalf if we can convince agents to let them). We would prefer to come straight into a house we own rather than have to rent and move twice - we were planning on doing that but the stamp duty break plus having school nailed down is putting us off.

Due to family connections and job locations (and the school for DC, again we have a personal connection to the school) we are looking in the Greenwich/ Blackheath/ Lee area but I am finding the pricing really difficult to work out - I thought London priced pretty much on sq ft but there seems to be quite large price differences along the same street even.

Also, the Rightmove sold price gadget doesn't update regularly enough for us to be able to see what houses have sold for more recently after the first wave of Covid.

For example (one of these is under offer already and the other we have only viewed online, it is over our budget at that price, so this is only an example, it isn't even our preferred location) what is the £200k difference between these two? The kitchen extension? Would it cost that much to extend?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96094358.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86037451.html

Does anyone know the area well to comment? Is it a good area? We have been told to go more toward the Blackheath train station area but very little comes up there on budget.

Some agents over value, prices drop if the property has been on for a while. What is your budget and what are your priorities. That is a wide area, you have Greenwich cutty sark area but extends out to include Deptford, Blackheath Village is more expensive than outer areas, Lee is further out. What school do you want to get to.

You mention taking advantage of the stamp duty break, but the properties you’ve linked to are both over £1 million plus. The stamp duty break only applies to homes worth up to £500k.

That 200k difference is down to that very expensive extension and kitchen. The finish is very good.

I'm in that area and it's really hard to get good builders that aren't booked.

Foyle road is lovely 😊

To me the more expensive one looks well done and an extension like that with high end kitchen could be £150k in london. I think they are on different sides of the road as the more expensive one has steps up to it so there could be a price difference if one gets more sun at the back than the other one? They are lovely houses.

I dont know the area well but my SIL lives in greenwich on the other side of the park.

I know you don't want to move twice but you are spending a lot of money - you really need to be able to visit the houses to see for yourself - photos only tell you so much - you need to ‘feel’ the house, if you know what i mean? Good luck.

The second one is turn key and a very high finish throughout. The first is nice enough but a bit meh. Needs a new kitchen. If you want the space of the extension and can afford the already finished one it’s probably worth the money.

@londoner87 if you buy a property for £1m you still save money as you don’t pay stamp duty on the first £500k

The second one is worth more but probably not the full £200k more. They've obviously done some expensive renovations on it recently. Spend £150k on the first house and you'd have a better property - semi not terraced, and no flight of steps to get in the front door.

@islandtime thanks - I didn’t realise that!

They’re pretty much in the same location. The more expensive one is updated and has a full-width extension on the ground floor. You’ll often find that in such expensive areas, the premium for getting the work done is cost of work + quite a lot extra.

But it’s only £200k more, and the finish is really high end - looks like a handmade kitchen. Minimum spend £150k to get the same finish, but possibly more as it looks like it’s had more recent new radiators etc. Possibly a rewire. Someone has spent a lot of money on it, possibly with plans to stay long term, but looks like they’ve had twins so maybe leaving behind quite a good renovation project.

Yes, you still save £15k plus the rent that we wouldn't need to pay - rents seem to be so high now. We left London in 2007 and at that time we paid £450 a week for a beautiful 2 bed river side apartment (which seemed extravagant) - we would be spending double the cost of a mortgage on rent for a pretty standard house - and we would have to sign up for a year by the sounds of things?
Also, we have a dog which means we are limited on rentals.
We could stay with family for a limited amount of time if we needed to.

Those houses are on the same side of the road (it's on a hill) and with the same agent - the stairs up to the expensive one are apparently very steep. The cheaper one is nearer the station which I would have thought was a plus? The area seems to be in the middle of nowhere though? A mile to Greenwich, a mile to Blackheath.... the park is nearby but not many shops or restaurants?

Our budget is good (or so I thought!) £1.25-£1.3m - we need 3 bedrooms but 4 would be ideal and a garden is a must.

I do hope we can visit before the end of the year but it is so uncertain.

Yes it’s a good area and you’re on top of Westcombe park. Around Blackheath station you will not get anywhere near as much for your money but yes it’s nice.

The lee conservation area is lovely as well - and probably a little less than around Westcombe park. It depends whether you need to be on top of a train station really and your budget.

unfriend has just been quoted £170,000 for a similar kitchen extension.I'd go for the house that's done, family homes are flying out.

As you are unable to view yourself. Would the estate agents allow your stand ins to take photos ? I suggest this because UK estate agents stretch the images to make the rooms look larger than they actually are ! You can sometimes see this as doors look very wide. In one of those photos you have post , the toilet roll on the wall looks like kitchen roll ! Failing that , look at the room plan supplied very carefully.

I am just trying to get a feel for prices - I had been under the impression that it was more about sq ft than kitchen finish/decor in London as most people rip out kitchens and bathrooms and start over anyway my sources must be wrong or out of date.

Tbh, that kitchen doesn’t look that expensive as it’s got very few units and only one drawer unit, a standard butler sink and range, the island worktop is affordable and there’s probably only 2.5m of the more expensive worktop etc. The large bathroom looks quite expensive, though. The extension is fairly standard too. So it’s all very trendy and nicely done but not super expensive.

OP, it does sound like a large budget. Can’t believe you can’t get 3-bedrooms closer to Blackheath for the money!

Not really - maybe when you’re talking prime city apartments but not family homes.

The second property is absolutely beautiful - finished to a very high end spec. Well worth avoiding all the hassle of builders, etc. and buying something that is completely done.

@JoJoSM2 the thing is that there aren’t that many family homes on top of Blackheath. Cator estate it’s either one of the smaller newer homes, or you’re talking £2million plus for a larger family home.

I’ve just had a look - there’s not a lot on the market either.

You're definitely not going to be renting a house for £900

More like £4,000 a month for that road! There's a flat round the corner, 2 bed at £1695 a month

I had been under the impression that it was more about sq ft than kitchen finish/decor in London as most people rip out kitchens and bathrooms and start over anyway.

I’ve only ever read that on here. In real life, people will pay a lot more for an updated house. I’m also under the impression that families living in expensive zone 2/3 terraces tend to have both parents working and no time and energy for refurbs.

The difficulty is you don't know if house no 1 accepted an offer or not.

So this is in the heart of Blackheath Villiage - but look at the difference
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85255750#/

DH will need to get to Canary Wharf and that is why we were erring more towards Greenwich/ Blackheath to get the DLR.

My relative who is helping me is pretty anti Lee for some reason, there seem to be some nice houses round there and in Hither Green. I don't know Lee or Hither Green at all but I have spent time in Greenwich and Blackheath.