First time buyer

[Newuser991]

I have the stamp duty exemption anyway up to £300k and my budget isn't bigger than that.

Am I best to wait to buy until next year?

I guess in London I cant have anything more than a 1 bed flat for that money?

Smallgoon

It's zone 5, so I suppose it comes down to whether you consider zones 5&6 London or not

I suspect you do not, but I do even if it's because I can't afford to buy any further in

@Sadhoot I hope I didn't offend, it wasn't my intention! I generally classify the areas that have a London postcode as being in London (I realise this isn't always the case.

My point remains though, you'd be hard pushed to find a 3 bed house for £350k in 80-90% of South London.

Yes I think you need to narrow down your search area to a more specific location than “London”
I also live in Forest hill and our 1 bed flat is worth over £300k which is what you pay for the location. However if you’re happy to be in a more outer zone which might not strictly fall under London you’ll obviously get a lot more for your money.

Smallgoon

No offense taken!

I think a 2-bed flat is realistic.

Carshalton Village is very pretty and green with nice pubs and cafes and a very nice leisure centre. A lot of events throughout the year, eg Artists’ Open Houses, fireworks, fairs etc.
Sutton if you’d like a large town centre with lots of amenities (shops, cinema, restaurants and cafes, gyms, yoga studios etc) - loads of flats in leafy roads just south of the station.
Cheam Village for a Waitrose, independent shops, a fab park and premium health clubs (300k won’t work right in the village but within a 10min walk).
Worcester Park should also have 2-bed flats on budget. It’s got a large Waitrose and a bunch of chain and independent along the high street. It’s only 2 stops into Kingston on the X26 for bigger shopping and on a Waterloo line via Wimbledon.

Re waiting till next year, it’s hard to tell. A recession has been predicted for ages but no one knows how much the corrections might be in different areas. With Covid, flats in London have been hard to sell so there should be bargains to be had. You could also consider a fixer upper as adding value through refurb can cancel out a slight price fall.