Flat in Surbiton (greater London), is it a good investment?

[Marghe87]

Inspired by some answers in my previous threads, I am exploring Surbiton as an area where we could potentially buy our first property. Unfortunately we are unable to afford a house there as the property market seems to be either flats (both blocks and converted) or very expensive houses (i.e. £700K for anything decent).
We like the area a lot, has a nice family vibe to it, is diverse enough, lots of amenities, lovely river walk and is well connected with London with fast trains. Primaries are very good and there are a couple of secondaries and a gramma school in nearby Kingston.

Is anyone familiar with the area, would you recommend buying a flat there as a family of 3? DD is 2yo and we are not planning on having more DC. I am used to apartment living as am European but would prefer a conversion flat or maisonette with garden. Budget is around £500K ish.

If you know the area, do you find that families tend to move away to buy houses elsewhere? Having an excellent commute is really vital to us as we work FT in London and don't have family here.

Thanks!

Anyone?

Yes as it's got a good commute into London you can't go
wrong!

Margot and Gerry lived there in The Good Life.

It's very popular with families for the same reasons you are looking at it.

I think there have been some other threads fairly recently about it - perhaps try and have a search.

@SurreyMumOfOne thanks! Houses are very very £££ though, we can only afford a flat :(

I live fairly nearby and my husband drives to surbiton to get the fast train into London.

It is a lovely place to live but think about schools - the traffic is really busy all of the time so you need to consider where you need to drop off in relation to your commute and your house.

Unfortunately, money doesn't go far around this area but have a look at the surrounding areas as you may find something that's a little further from the station or from a slower station like Hinchley Wood (good catchment though).

It is a lovely place to live with the river, Bushy and Richmond Park and Kingston on your doorstep.

Good luck with your search

@donutosaurus the thing is that I don't drive and need the fast trains, hence why Surbiton is an ideal location in that sense. Expensive though :(

It's a good place to live if you don't drive as the trains are so fast into London.

There are buses for getting to school (this is a little way off yet but still worth considering).

It's a fairly safe buy as far as houses and flats go.

@donutosaurus thank you. Do you know if it's fairly common for families to settle in flats there or do they all tend to move out once they have primary age DC and only the very wealthy ones remain as houses are £££