Newham is London‘s fastest rising borough in terms of house price growth, according to Government figures.
House prices in the Olympic borough have risen by almost 21 per cent, taking the average cost of buying a home in districts such as Stratford, Canning Town and the Royal Docks to £359,000.
While average house prices across London have risen by 12.3 per cent in the past 12 months, the figures reflect that house price growth is slowing overall.
The typical value of a London home rose by one per cent from June to July and is now almost £485,000, according to a report released by the ONS and Land Registry.
The ONS figures provide an early snapshot of the property market during the first full month after the EU referendum on June 23, although many of these transactions would have been set in motion before the Brexit vote.
London’s fastest-rising boroughs
London’s cheapest boroughs on the outer reaches are still experiencing house price growth of up to 20 per cent in a year. Along with Newham, strong house price growth was recorded in Hillingdon, west London, and Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest to the east. Bexley and Croydon, in the south-east, also saw house prices rise by over 19 per cent annually.
Home buyers in these fast-growing, but more affordable, parts of the capital can save up to £157,000 compared to average London-wide prices, with regeneration programmes and transport upgrades boosting the appeal of such areas.
“For an aspiring first-time buyer, being able to purchase a home in London is becoming an almost impossible challenge,” says Andrew Bridges, managing director of Stirling Ackroyd. “Those working in the capital are now looking to the east and south-east of England for more affordable homes, which is why these areas are also seeing double-digit growth.”
Barking and Dagenham is the only borough where typical homes are selling for less than £300,000, averaging £276,000. The borough was recently voted the most miserable place to live in the UK, with residents rating their neighbours unfriendly and rude, in an annual Rightmove survey.
However, last week the Mayor approved a masterplan for the capital’s single largest regeneration site at Barking Riverside, with 10,000 new homes, wildlife reserves and a marina to be built over the next 15 years at a development dubbed “Barcelona-on-Thames”.
Prime central London
Some of central London’s most expensive boroughs have been hit the hardest following the market slowdown. In Kensington and Chelsea, prices have dropped by three per cent to £1.29 million over the past year. In south-west London’s Hammersmith and Fulham they have fallen 1.6 per cent to £760,000, and in Camden, in north London, they are down 0.6 per cent to £788,000.