It feels crazy that nearly £900k isn’t enough to buy a nice house with a garden in a safe area of London!

[Propertyahhh]

A complaint post really.

I know, first world problems. But we have almost £900k to spend and it won’t get us a house with a garden in any London neighbourhood we like (Blackheath, Hackney, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, East Dulwich). So we thought we’d look at Bath, Bristol, Hove, etc and it doesn’t even stretch very far there. Tiny terraces with tiny gardens - if that.

Why is property so expensive?!?! How can so many people afford excess £1m to spend on houses?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73470987#/

Plenty of room in the garden for football, and only an hour from Swindon to London on the train. Lovely views too.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107418068#/

It’s interesting that you mention Hackney (which is pretty big) as a place you like, but say you find somewhere like Leyton unsafe. I would have thought crime is most likely higher in Hackney (or at least comparable).

Anyway, your problem is basically the story of gentrification. A lot of people priced out of Hackney especially made their way to places like Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Leyton instead. There they found they could just about get the family houses with gardens.

Then all the cafes, bakeries and restaurants start to spring up. The pubs go more upmarket, articles start getting written about how cool it is to live there and about how McGuffins of Leyton actually does the best must-try Demi-Flat Cronut in London.

By that point though the house prices have crept up, and before you know it someone finds themselves on MN wondering how people can possibly afford a family home in such a desirable area.

For a lot of people the answer will just be - they bought their house while the area was still looked down on by people who thought it wasn’t quite good enough for them (a bit too sketchy, a little bit too real, not safe enough).

If want to skip all the waiting and buy a house in London in an area which already has all the posh cafes and where your neighbours are part of the 0.1% then it does cost a lot of money!

Spitting distance from Blackheath

What about something like this?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/75437232#/

Brockley and Honor Oak are pretty nice and safe.

Or look further out - Sutton, Bexley or Bromley if you want grammars.

Or something like this if you would prefer a non-grammar area.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109067846#/

I do get the sense that some people basically mean "there are too many black people" when they say they don't feel safe somewhere though.

I’m mixed race. I do not mean that.

I mean I am less likely to get mugged and my kids - when they are teens - are less likely to get mugged.

@Nesbo

It’s interesting that you mention Hackney (which is pretty big) as a place you like, but say you find somewhere like Leyton unsafe. I would have thought crime is most likely higher in Hackney (or at least comparable).

Anyway, your problem is basically the story of gentrification. A lot of people priced out of Hackney especially made their way to places like Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Leyton instead. There they found they could just about get the family houses with gardens.

Then all the cafes, bakeries and restaurants start to spring up. The pubs go more upmarket, articles start getting written about how cool it is to live there and about how McGuffins of Leyton actually does the best must-try Demi-Flat Cronut in London.

By that point though the house prices have crept up, and before you know it someone finds themselves on MN wondering how people can possibly afford a family home in such a desirable area.

For a lot of people the answer will just be - they bought their house while the area was still looked down on by people who thought it wasn’t quite good enough for them (a bit too sketchy, a little bit too real, not safe enough).

If want to skip all the waiting and buy a house in London in an area which already has all the posh cafes and where your neighbours are part of the 0.1% then it does cost a lot of money!

This

Try Walthamstow

Here's one in Bexley village SE London

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109289975#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109001378#/

Plenty of everything !

We struggled to find the larger garden. Am not a million miles from East Dulwich (which would have been my first choice, but our budget was lower than yours) but I wish we had looked at Beckenham/West Wickham and other Bromley-ish areas. E.g
Farnaby Road, Bromley, BR2
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108307763

Sorry I mean this in the nicest possible way but you're being ridiculous - London is huge, there's loads of nice areas, and you have lots of money to spend.

East Finchley?

@Nesbo

It’s interesting that you mention Hackney (which is pretty big) as a place you like, but say you find somewhere like Leyton unsafe. I would have thought crime is most likely higher in Hackney (or at least comparable).

Anyway, your problem is basically the story of gentrification. A lot of people priced out of Hackney especially made their way to places like Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Leyton instead. There they found they could just about get the family houses with gardens.

Then all the cafes, bakeries and restaurants start to spring up. The pubs go more upmarket, articles start getting written about how cool it is to live there and about how McGuffins of Leyton actually does the best must-try Demi-Flat Cronut in London.

By that point though the house prices have crept up, and before you know it someone finds themselves on MN wondering how people can possibly afford a family home in such a desirable area.

For a lot of people the answer will just be - they bought their house while the area was still looked down on by people who thought it wasn’t quite good enough for them (a bit too sketchy, a little bit too real, not safe enough).

If want to skip all the waiting and buy a house in London in an area which already has all the posh cafes and where your neighbours are part of the 0.1% then it does cost a lot of money!

Ha! So true. Friends who used to live in Hackney or Dalton when it was Stabbing Central all cashed in and moved further north or east to Slightly Sketchy But Good Bones and the gentrification has followed…

I feel you. It's a joke!

Shropshire is lovely 🙂
Pic one of many .

Come to highams park. It’s lovely. you’d get a great house for 900k.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101241506#/

Again loads of space and leftover money for redecoration etc

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Gidea-Park.html

Gidea Park? It’s got a train direct to Liverpool St and will be on the Elizabeth Line. It’s like a poorer more right wing Hampstead. Lovely houses though!

Come to Penge it's great. Close to Crystal Palace but not as expensive. Great primaries ..: less great secondary situation but improving.

Or beckenham. Lovely area with great schools and a nice high street

This house in central Cambridge looks very good for the price asked. Easy commute to London.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110127203#/

@Propertyahhh

I do get the sense that some people basically mean "there are too many black people" when they say they don't feel safe somewhere though.

I’m mixed race. I do not mean that.

I mean I am less likely to get mugged and my kids - when they are teens - are less likely to get mugged.

Are you looking for period property or are you open to new builds, 80s, 90s? I'm asking as there are suburbs in North Bristol which are a bit more diverse than others are, with detached properties and gardens, also low crime, good state schools, open space and amenities. See Cheswick Village, the Stokes etc.

@Propertyahhh

A complaint post really.

I know, first world problems. But we have almost £900k to spend and it won’t get us a house with a garden in any London neighbourhood we like (Blackheath, Hackney, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, East Dulwich). So we thought we’d look at Bath, Bristol, Hove, etc and it doesn’t even stretch very far there. Tiny terraces with tiny gardens - if that.

Why is property so expensive?!?! How can so many people afford excess £1m to spend on houses?

If you’re willing to commute,Essex is great value for money at the moment.From Chelmsford it’s under 40 mins by train to Liverpool St.You can easily get 5-6 bed with generous garden.There’s King Edward Grammar for boys and Chelmsford County for girls (grammar).Not far from Colchester grammars.The city centre is lovely and has been rejuvenated.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

Spitting distance from Blackheath

Agreed, but only nice if everyone stopped spitting all the time.

Bedfordshire/South Cambridgeshire is your answer.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109666433#/