Where would you buy for 900k in London?

[SD25]

3-bed (minimum) house. No further out than Zone 4. Decent access to Paddington. Prefer urban feel than suburban. Good high street and schools for DD.

We like SE London but Dulwich is a bit out of price range for something nice so perhaps Forest Hill/Sydenham but not sure about schools. West London we don't know so well but most of the nicer areas seem too expensive.

Affordability does matter hence why prices have stagnated somewhat, flats have suffered the most.

@BigSkies2022
I totally agree. I'm an old lefty secondary school teacher. I'm very cynical about how schools are judged. One of my favourite ever pieces of research produced the outcome that it makes zero difference which category of school a child attends, good , excellent, poor. What matters is all the other factors, parental income and occupation, adverse childhood experiences, send, and gender and ethnicity. That is in terms of exam results.
I guess if what you actually want is for your child to learn lacrosse or Latin maybe private is for you.

@Dsdurga

Yeah I guess so for buying but how on earth do two people on minimum wage in zones 1,2,3 afford rents ? I guess having kids is out of the question now if you live in these zones on minimum wage .

@Foresthiller agreed. I don’t know anyone who’s moved away for secondary schools and we’re year 6 now.

Sometimes people who make the move out to the burbs and regret it (which happens a lot) try and justify it to themselves I think! Oh it’s a terrible place. Schools are awful! You’ll get stabbed every day!

I guess having kids is out of the question now

Yep!

schoolsweek.co.uk/falling-rolls-the-true-cost-of-declining-school-populations/

brixtonblog.com/2024/09/consultation-on-incredibly-difficult-falling-school-rolls/

One reason to be very mindful when looking at areas/schools due to the current funding model.

I don’t know anyone who’s moved away for secondary schools and we’re year 6 now.

That's quite unusual, I work in education & there is a lot of moment in London primaries. Often the demographics in YR 1 are very different to Yr 6 and of course Covid resulted in lots of families moving.

Sometimes people who make the move out to the burbs

I'm in z3, I've always counted it as the suburbs as it's not central London but I think it's has a different meaning on MNs!

most of us agree the prices are crazy but that's the way it is and has been for some time now - so what are you going to do! we love London and don't want to live anywhere else right now. but I agree, I don't really want a crappy/ugly house just because it's central. hence we're looking at zone 3/4.

and we afford it with equity from current house plus joint salaries of that are double the London average. nothing crazy.

That's quite unusual, I work in education & there is a lot of moment in London primaries. Often the demographics in YR 1 are very different to Yr 6 and of course Covid resulted in lots of families moving.

I’m not saying no-one has moved since yr 1 - I’m saying no-one has moved in yr 5-6 for school reasons. Apart from 1 who went to private. People have moved way out to the country or whatever, but not an exodus up the road to Beckenham to avoid Forest Hill schools, as the other poster suggested

I know what you mean - and that's a whole other argument. my partner definitely thinks anywhere zone 3/4 is suburbs. whereas I am more on feel, so areas can still feel urban/like being in the city, and I don't think it's suburban until you're in Bromley/Barnet etc. London postcode pretty much for me.

I'm in z3, I've always counted it as the suburbs as it's not central London but I think it's has a different meaning on MNs

you’re right it’s the suburbs of London. I probably meant more ‘surburbia’ which I’d define Bromley / Beckenham as as they have a very different non-city and more conservative feel

I’m not saying no-one has moved since yr 1 - I’m saying no-one has moved in yr 5-6 for school reasons.

Well movement in yr 6 for schools isn't the norm because secondary applications have to be in at the beginning of Yr 6...

@boxyboxs why are you nitpicking? Suburbs. School years. I don’t know anyone who has moved for the reason of FH schools not being good. Does that cover all bases or is there another hole in the narrative you can find?

I think Forest Hill ticks a lot of boxes and families weigh up where they could go for similar money and decide it's not worth it. It's already fairly green so why go further out and have longer commutes and less access to central London. It may not be the same calculation for Brixton/Stockwell etc

I think the outer boroughs have seen a bigger influx of young families moving from central/inner London as schools there aren't suffering so much from declining numbers. And many do want more for their money.

@Meraleine I'm not sure why responded with a different opinion is classed as nit picking. 😂😂

@renoleno Fair play to you, I definitely wouldn't have had the patience to save for 10 years to get on the properly ladder, when I was younger I wanted to travel, do hobbies and go out with friends.
Yes, in my parents' country prices are much higher in the capital too, but nowhere near as high compared to the average salary as in London. Also in that country the only place where there's well paid work is in the capital and many of the provincial areas are underdeveloped and with almost 3rd world conditions. This isn't the case in the UK - you can have a well paid job and a good standard of life in most towns and cities across the country. I can't really think of anything London offers that other major cities don't, that's why it surprises me that people pay these prices just to be in London.

5 min walk from Liz Line and the next stop is Paddington.

5 bed terraced house for sale in Horn Lane, London W3, £800,000 - Zoopla

@Gekko21 Yes, I get there are more career options, I toyed with the idea of moving to London when I was younger but looking at the job adverts, although the salaries were higher than where I live now, they still weren't high enough to be able to afford to even rent by myself (so not in a house share) let alone buy. I think the average London salary is still something like £45k? You won't get far in London on that and there's no guarantee you'll be able to climb the ladder (realistically not everyone can be at the top on a huge salary, there are only so many of those positions), whereas where I live now I bought a large 3 bed flat as a starter home while earning £23k not long out of uni. So for me it was a no brainer.
Anyway, I'm derailing the thread so I'll stop here, and good luck with your move to the country (it's lovely, you won't regret it!)

@SD25 I hope you find what you're looking for.

1. In the inner zones, they will share bedrooms in HMOs.
2. Or, have access to social housing (the golden ticket). You might get a £400 council flat that would cost thousands privately
3. They live further out and travel in for work

Amazing - a drop of a third in ten years.

The housing crisis’ full effects now clear.

Looks on/very close to A road. and not sure on that location tbh. but thanks.

You're not a Londoner, are you?

This one needs a bit of love but it's also very close.

3 bed property for sale in Balfour Road, London W3, £700,000 - Zoopla

Not sure about Acton but looks like it's worth checking out. Certainly good transport and close to nicer areas.