London houses for £650k-ish

[sunflowerparty]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster - it's been really helpful to read through your advice and experiences here!

I am a FTB looking for a terraced house to buy in London - 2x bedrooms is fine, the main thing is I'd like a garden with some sun and space for a little lawn. The top end of my budget is £650k (though I could probably stretch a little higher, say to £675k, if I really loved a house/area). I really want to buy freehold and am willing to save longer if I had to rather than compromising on leasehold / share of freehold now.

Obviously London is so expensive and it seems I'm very much at the low end there for a freehold house budget. I'm getting really disheartened because houses around this level are still flying off the shelves if they are in halfway decent condition and that supposed price decline is definitely not making itself known to me (one house I offered on recently went for almost £70k over the OIEO price, and £80k over what an almost identical house sold for last year). I'm on the brink of giving up.

Does anyone have recommendations for nice/safe areas with convenient transport links that might suit my budget? I think I'm probably priced out of Walthamstow; I've been looking on the central line out East but might be priced out there too. I tried Hanwell which initially seemed nice but didn't feel overly safe in the town centre (it didn't help that some guy yelled at me when walking back to the station). I'm flexible on which side of London.

Thank you!

South East? Eltham, Sidcup, Orpington - 650 will get you a nice 1930s three bed semi with a spacious garden.

What about East Dulwich or Penge area? This is lovely;

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134991674

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/houses/2-bedrooms/east-finchley/

It's a small price for an actual house in actual London rather than a suburb of London. It's not what you want to hear but a nice 2 bed flat or maisonette with garden will be more realistic.

I am searching in east Dulwich in a different price range but noticed this one reduced yesterday in an amazing location East Dulwich terrace

I rate the Dover House Estate in Putney. Example here:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132861893#/?channel=RES_BUY

Barnes station is walkable, or bus / cycle to Putney tube. Great primary schools in the area, lots of green nearby.

Also check out other 1920s garden village council estates around London. Might not be the most convenient for public transport, but they will be largely private owned, are good, strong houses, and won't have massive blocks of flats in them.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128962601#/?channel=RES_BUY

What about this?

I cannot believe the price of that house in East Dulwich. I would be very suspicious of it. Unless someone is desperate to sell that seems extremely low.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136113188#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

The East Dulwich house is lovely but very small and quite a distance from the train.

Forest Hill. Green and leafy with a nice sense of community, without being teeth itchingly Nappy Valley. Good transport links. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E2324&maxPrice=700000&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Two people linking to the same house in London feels so unlikely that I suspect the thread was started to help sell that exact house.

struck me as low as well knowing East Dulwich.
Maybe they are hoping for a bidding war with the "Offers in Excess of" tag they put on, but I have the idea that now (unlike last year) there won't be bidding wars. So they will just withdraw it if it doesn't spark a war?
Nevetheless am interested to see what happens to it as an indivator of the market.
Can some kind soul tell me how to do this? Track its progress? Eventual sale price - if it sells?
Don't worry OP (or anyone else) - am not in the market for it or anything else - I won't be going for it.

>>INDICATOR of the market.

Definitely you can find this in the south east. Penge, Crystal Palace, Streatham, norbury.

Yes you would actually find a better property if you looked for a 3 bed ground floor maisonette with garden for this price

Or... more likely... it's the ONLY house within that budget in East Dulwich which is absolutely not an area I'd be telling anyone with less than £900k to be looking in

It does say it's a half-house? People on Mumsnet are so suspicious! 😂 I literally just clicked houses added in the last 24 hours. I can assure you I have no hidden agenda, just wanted to help out the OP. Buying in London is a total minefield. I hope you find something that works for you!

@pendleflyer I sometimes try and track a sale especially on places that we've made offers on! You basically need to keep an eye on the land registry but it is taking months to update.

I did think this price was deliberately low to create a bidding war. If there is nothing structurally wrong with it, then that must be what they're hoping for.

I've seen a few houses at the £700k mark - in and around Peckham / East Dulwich / Nunhead but they are wrecks that you're going to need to spend £200k on.

South east London is full of half houses. Doesn't mean they cost less than a flat.

That is a 2016/2017 price and I can't imagine anyone really expects it to go for £650k.

how is it "half a house"?
I just thought it was a smallish one - two bedrooms - but still a house?

If it helps, Hanwell is a lovely place to live and the Elizabeth line is amazing - I come home at all hours and never have a problem or felt particularly unsafe but I realise that doesn’t mean much.

>> I come home at all hours and never have a problem or felt particularly unsafe but I realise that doesn’t mean much.
why? are you a dangerous looking thug WE should all be scared of?

A half - house? Is that what EAs are calling maisonettes now? 😂

@Scoffin what a great find. I really want to buy that house! It's so small though but they've done really well with it.