Would you buy a flat in Wimbledon?

[Onaladder]

Need help understanding Wimbledon area!

DP and I have a budget for a flat with a garden in zone1-3 London, so around 750k It has not been easy as we are only looking at period conversions, and not many with gardens within that budget…

We saw a few in Wimbledon area (near to Wimbledon and Wimbledon park stations). The area seems really nice and there were a lot of outstanding schools around. We liked the village and also the big high street.

We did not see many flats come on however, and the ones that come on seem to be in the market for a while…We are considering selling in about 3-5years, is it a bad area to buy a flat? E.g., people only buy houses in Wimbledon? Nobody will come to Wimbledon to buy a flat?

We are also looking at other areas like Fulham, Queen’s Park, West Hampstead and compared to these areas, we can get a much larger flat with a nicer garden in Wimbledon but if people just don’t buy flats in Wimbledon, maybe it will be difficult to sell in future…

At that price you could get a house somewhere near. Why buy leasehold when you can get freehold

For me I wouldn't because I like to be much more central. I'd rather have a smaller flat in West Hampstead (or preferably more central like Clerkenwell) than zone 3.

Is it just you guys or do you have kids? Friends of mine have had issues with noise complaints for pretty normal levels of noise in places like that so I’d think about it carefully if you have a toddler.

Also TBH I probably wouldn’t do it if you’re planning to sell in 3-5 years, I’d stay where you are and save the stamp duty, especially since the housing market is a bit odd at the moment. I think people do buy flats in those areas but yes houses are more popular and people who do buy them tend to stay for longer- it’s not an especially transient area.

Wimbledon Park is lovely. A great place to live.

My flat is a period conversion with a garden 10 minutes from Wimbledon station, I finally feel like an expert!

Wimbledon is very sought after and also very expensive so people might want a house but budget dictates a flat instead. Only one of the flats in my building has been on the market since I moved in 16 years ago but was sold very quickly. IMO given that there are a lot of new build flats coming to market locally the conversions will hold their value but I guess I would say that.

it’s a great place to live and I highly recommend!

We made this mistake in 2017, bought a flat (although in west Wimbledon, Raynes Park, which is still a nice area20 min walk to Wimbledon common), thinking we would sell in 3-5 years. Put it on the market in March 2020 when our 3rd child was due, then you can guess what happened. Took 3.5 years to sell, 10% drop in price compared to what we paid for it. when we finally sold it was the happiest day in my life, even happier than when my children were born, it was such a relief. Wimbledon is not an area where people would buy flats to live in them, maybe to rent out, but the market for btl is dead now, not sure if it recovers in 3-5 years. With your budget I’d consider going a bit further but with a house