SE London houses - what do you think?

[MrFirstTimeBuyer]

Hi everyone, first time poster, long time reader.

We want to buy a house for a young couple / family in SE London. Budget is around 1-1.25m, and main criteria are a nice/safe area, finished house (not in need of renovation), and decent commute.

Any thoughts on these? The prices seem a bit crazy compared to properties that sold just last year.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118492337#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116841581#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd rather be too conservative and miss out on the first couple, then overpay and regret later. What do you think? Any thoughts/advice greatly appreciated!

@absentbf

With that budget, I wouldn't buy in Penge. Or if I did, I'd spend much less than £1m.

If I was spending over £1m on a house in SE London outside zone 1, I would only really consider Blackheath, Greenwich and Dulwich.

Beckenham is a lovely area, but buying what you linked to seriously exposes you to negative equity. Period houses need maintenance, even done up ones, and sinking £1.2m + maintenance into a Beckenham/Penge semi seems crazy to me.

For your commute and budget, I'd seriously look at Blackheath/Greenwich.

Bromley borough was one of the fastest rising boroughs in terms of house prices in London.

www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/london-house-price-index-areas-biggest-rise-drop-b966179.html?amp

Agreed. Dulwich and Blackheath are fabulous if you want period houses and a nice area. But yes your money will not stretch as far. I don't think buying in penge or Beckenham will see negative equity though. People move this way for excellent schools so there are always young families looking. Don't underestimate it.

The one in Penge is incredibly overpriced!

With that budget you could get a bigger house & garden in a nicer area than Penge!

With that budget I would look at Chislehurst. You'll get some really nice properties in that price bracket with much more space

The Beck one is nicer but you are paying for the work plus some.

@checkedcurtain

I'd just go for the isle of dogs and enjoy walking to work

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110138024

Interesting idea. I assumed Isle od Dogs didn't really have nice areas/houses (and wasn't keen on living too close), plus there isn't that much to do around there, but i might give it a second look.

@monfuseds

With that budget you could get a bigger house & garden in a nicer area than Penge!

any recommendations in the SE london area? Do you think East Dulwich would be within reach or it it outside my budget still?

Any advice is welcome, thanks!

Why do you need a 4-5 bedroom house when you don't have children yet?

I'd take the bedrooms down to 3 but keep the budget the same, and you could get somewhere in much more gentrified / central areas. Even if you had 1 or 2 children, a 3 bed semi would be big enough for the next few years and by the time you needed more space (say a decade or so) you might want to move on anyway.

Yep Peckham Rye / nice parts of Camberwell / Dulwich have lots of potential around the 1-1.2 mark

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116453153#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118152755#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116400860#/?channel=RES_BUY

GreenestValley perhaps OP is thinking ahead and the costs of moving again? Also some days WFH gives them both work space in 4/5 bed house.

If thinking ahead you need to focus on primary schools & distance

@GreenestValley

Why do you need a 4-5 bedroom house when you don't have children yet?

I'd take the bedrooms down to 3 but keep the budget the same, and you could get somewhere in much more gentrified / central areas. Even if you had 1 or 2 children, a 3 bed semi would be big enough for the next few years and by the time you needed more space (say a decade or so) you might want to move on anyway.

We've assumed 4 bedrooms would be needed soon anywas (master bedroom + planning kids coming in the next year or so + office for WFH + guestroom).

We originally thought about getting something smaller now and upsizing later, but if we can find something within our budget that would last us longer, then we'd prefer that. We're fairly settled in London and have no plans on moving elsewhere in the next 5-10 years.

The first (Camberwell) house is lovely GreenestValley but what is the commute to Canary Wharf?

You can afford a 4 bed on the river on the Isle
of Dogs. Walking distance to Greenwich via the Greenwich foot tunnel/ short hop on dlr and stuff on in Canary Wharf on weekend. Jubilee line and DLR make getting elsewhere in London easy. I felt pretty safe while living there.
If you have babies it's very easy as DLR/jubilee is buggy friendly/accessible. And there's the farm and stables so a little world of its own!

@sunshinesupermum

The first (Camberwell) house is lovely GreenestValley but what is the commute to Canary Wharf?

Peckham Rye to London Bridge (20 min) London Bridge to Canary Wharf (9 mins) Even with walking and changes, should be within 45-50 mins.

[quote GreenestValley]Yep Peckham Rye / nice parts of Camberwell / Dulwich have lots of potential around the 1-1.2 mark

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116453153#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118152755#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116400860#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
I'll check those areas out.

What about something like this between East Dulwich and Honor Oak/Forest Hill (not sure where it technically belongs)?
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116890208#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118466042

@sunshinesupermum

GreenestValley perhaps OP is thinking ahead and the costs of moving again? Also some days WFH gives them both work space in 4/5 bed house.

Up to you obvs. But it seems a little premature to me, to factor in not one but two bedrooms for children who haven't even been born yet (what if things didn't go to plan and it didn't end up happening?), when you're making sacrifices on the area. Depends how much you enjoy going out and doing things in London I guess.

Maybe already linked but this one in Dulwich looks great 1.2 mil

South Croxted Road, West Dulwich
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119048213

Have name changed at this is very outing
Have you looked at Ladywell. We are five mins from Ladywell station (London Bridge is 9 mins) and 10 mins from Lewisham DLR.

It's fab - village feel with Lewisham on door step. Hilly fields is gorgeous. Primaries excellent and really good secondary if you have girls.

We bought a 17 roomed house for 1m and did loads of work on it. But it's absolutely HUGE. We rattle around it in and we have four of us and it's our forever home. You could easily get something in your budget which isn't needing work

I would look at east Dulwich, Honor Oak, Crofton Park, Ladywell for that budget and requirements. Ladywell would be the quickest commute. That one you shared on Forest Hill Road is on a main road and overpriced for what it is. If you don’t mind hills then the houses on the Horniman hill have the most amazing views. East dulwich has the best shops/pubs/high street, but costs more and travel to CW slightly harder. Honor Oak has a lovely villagey atmosphere and great primary schools. Forest hill has some great houses but the south circular means the shopping area is a bit grim. Crofton park is very popular with young families.

Forest Hill seems to be the upandcoming area and within budget something like this which has 4 beds for now and you could convert the garage as and when you needed it.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117677129#/?channel=RES_BUY

Needs work but underbudget
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/96767117#/?channel=RES_BUY

[quote Allsorts1]Maybe already linked but this one in Dulwich looks great 1.2 mil

South Croxted Road, West Dulwich
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119048213[/quote]
Looks very nice - how is the area? Is it still considered part of West Dulwich?

@toots111

I would look at east Dulwich, Honor Oak, Crofton Park, Ladywell for that budget and requirements. Ladywell would be the quickest commute. That one you shared on Forest Hill Road is on a main road and overpriced for what it is. If you don’t mind hills then the houses on the Horniman hill have the most amazing views. East dulwich has the best shops/pubs/high street, but costs more and travel to CW slightly harder. Honor Oak has a lovely villagey atmosphere and great primary schools. Forest hill has some great houses but the south circular means the shopping area is a bit grim. Crofton park is very popular with young families.

Thanks, super helpful.

I liked the look of the house, but didn't have a sense of whether it is fair price or not. If a similar house was closer to East Dulwich, would the price be fair (or would it cost even more there)?

Would Honor Oak be cheaper then East Dulwich?

Oh goodness, I used to live between forest hill and honor oak and with that much money to spend I would move out to Kent. I am totally in the SE bubble still but although FH is now very middle class ( which I'm not sure is necessarily a good thing) there was still a lot of drug dealing and crime going on on our road which was just behind the horniman museum. The day I decided to move out was the day we watched a car full of people with machetes ram and then chase another car's occupants on foot. I know it's different for everyone and I lived in London for nearly twenty years but I thought I don't want to spend over half a million to live somewhere where this goes on when I'm raising kids. And I definitely would spend over a million.