Has anyone noticed that Central London is cheaper than it was (comparatively)

[ratus]

When I first moved to London maybe 15 years ago, Central was mega expensive compared to Zone 2-3. I remember looking at flats in Bloomsbury for £1,600 a month and thinking yikes. I lived in Balham and paid £925 a month for a flat of the same size.

I was looking for my niece who is moving to London soon. Flats in Central seem a lot cheaper than they were compared to the rest of London. Flats near where I was in Balham are now £2,000 a month but similar ones in Bloomsbury are £2,300.

It makes you wonder:
a) how anyone can 'save money by moving further out'
b) why anyone bothers commuting on the stinky tube

I just looked far out on the central line, and even one beds in Ilford are asking almost £1600 a month!

Because central has turned into a ghetto.

I think it’s more that the bottom has risen and the gap is smaller now rather than the top level has become cheaper

Balham is super boujee and trendy atm so not sure a good comparison.

You’re probably looking at somewhere like Stratford for a comparison now.

Really? My flat is in zone 2, granted, but the rent has gone up 25% in the last three years (old tenants had a 15% increase, first in three years, then when getting new tenants up by 10%).

What I mean is, central isn't getting cheaper, the surrounding area is catching up.

This. Balham was already very popular in 2009, even established, compared with, say, 2005.

What's the sq footage of the flat in Bloomsbury compared with Balham? Less likely to have outside space or access to green space. If you want a car centrally you'll struggle to get free parking.

I have heard of Balham's gentrification, but find it hard to imagine! I lived there from 93-95 (opposite Tesco) and it was a hell of a long way from being boujee and trendy then!😁

Have you been to bloomsbury this year?

I don’t think you know what ghetto means

i lived in zone 2 for years and could cycle or bus to work. When I moved outside of London I was hit with 500 a month travel cards and the rent was not actually cheaper.

Was it not where people moved to when they couldn’t afford Clapham? 😂

Yep! 😆

There's more green spaces in Bloomsbury than in Balham, surely.

Anyway I agree that it's the edges catching up with the middle. The middle is still v expensive. But the edges are too, now.

Balham was pretty trendy around the turn of the millennium. Now it's full of Aussies and South Africans, same as Clapham.

Yep I think this is basically what has happened.

There’s a ceiling for “normal” flats in London (ie not Knightsbridge penthouse) which is the limit of what people in “normal” jobs can afford. Central London hit that ceiling a few years ago, and everywhere else is catching up.