Do you live in one of London’s new £1million neighbourhoods?

T

he number of millionaire neighbourhoods in London rose by 14 in the course of 2021 amid a pandemic-fuelled property boom that has seen areas with average prices at the other end of the scale almost disappear in the UK.

The new research from Savills looked at average house prices across Britain’s 8,694 electoral wards where there were at least 10 property sales in the year.

It found that of the 635 wards in London, 14 broke through the £1 million barrier in 2021, while seven lost their millionaire status.

One of the biggest jumps was seen in Childs Hill in Barnet, north-west London where the average price rose from £788,000 in 2020 to £1.12 million in 2021. To the west of Hampstead between Golders Green and Cricklewood, the area is made up predominantly of large houses with gardens.

£1,250,000: this five-bedrom semi-detached house currently for sale through Hausman & Holmes is typical for Childs Hill

/ Rightmove

“I’ve sold homes for over £1 million on roads such as Sanderstead Avenue and Purley Avenue that never used to top that price. Our buyers are mostly locals upsizing; they always want a garden and parking,” said Brian Lester, senior property consultant at William Nelhams & Co.

“I think prices are going to continue on the same trajectory in 2022, they haven’t hit their peak yet. The Bank of England’s interest rates announcement and rising energy bills don’t seem to have slowed things down, I think people want to find a bit of normality and one part of that is getting on with their lives.”

Leafy areas with large homes in Zone 3 dominated the list of new £1 million neighbourhoods as lockdown life inspired people to value living space and gardens over an easy commute.

A pair of Hounslow’s riverside wards (Chiswick Homefields and Chiswick Riverside) also newly crossed the £1 million, alongside two each in Kensington & Chelsea (Dalgarno and Earl’s Court), Haringey (Muswell Hill and Fortis Green) and Merton (Hillside and Wimbledon Park).

Chiswick

/ Daniel Lynch

Other new millionaire neighbourhoods include Town in Hammersmith & Fulham; Brondesbury Park in Brent; Tachbrook in Westminster; Clapham Common in Lambeth; and Northcote in Wandsworth.

London’s new £1 million neighbourhoods

Ward

Borough

Average sold price 2021

Average sold price 2020

Chiswick Homefields

Hounslow

£1,218,620

£979,461

Town

Hammersmith & Fulham

£1,166,451

£986,845

Dalgarno

Kensington & Chelsea

£1,127,675

£791,692

Childs Hill

Barnet

£1,123,501

£788,124

Hillside

Merton

£1,097,426

£960,582

Earl’s Court

Kensington & Chelsea

£1,094,747

£886,243

Wimbledon Park

Merton

£1,081,502

£983,935

Chiswick Riverside

Hounslow

£1,034,536

£994,387

Brondesbury Park

Brent

£1,033,898

£828,003

Muswell Hill

Haringey

£1,022,012

£969,202

Fortis Green

Haringey

£1,015,200

£938,074

Tachbrook

Westminster

£1,014,995

£789,663

Clapham Common

Lambeth

£1,008,657

£812,298

Northcote

Wandsworth

£1,004,428

£982,683

Clapham Common

/ Daniel Lynch

Areas where homes now cost more than £500,000

The number of areas where homes cost more than £500,000 rose by 19 percent in London, meaning that two-thirds of residential properties have now crossed that threshold.

A buyer with a 10 per cent deposit would need a household income of around £100,000 or more to afford a £500,000 home.

During the stamp duty holiday, which ended in June 2021, £500,000 was the upper price limit for a buyer to pay no tax on their new home, pushing buyer demand to frenzied levels.

“While the recent burst of house price growth was kick-started by the stamp duty holiday, continued momentum in the market has been fundamentally underpinned by low-interest rates and people’s reassessment of their housing needs. In some parts of the UK, this resulted in a significant widening of house prices.

“Typically the areas which have seen the biggest growth reflect how more affluent households locational preferences have changed.” said Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research.

Where can you buy a home for less than £150,000?

While house prices below £150,000 have long ceased to exist in London, they are now on the brink of extinction throughout Britain, with only 10 per cent of wards in the country now qualifying. A buyer with a 10 per cent deposit would need a household income of about £30,000 to afford a home at this price.

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There are just five £150,000 wards left in the entire South of England, down from 17 last year, in Great Yarmouth, East Suffolk and Fenland. The number even dropped from 50 per cent to 48 per cent of wards in the North East, the region with the highest number of districts with the cheapest homes.

Mr Cook said: “The mini-boom in the housing market also means the range of locations accessible to a household with a more limited budget of £150,000 has shrunk substantially. This is likely to come more sharply into focus as interest rates start to creep upwards.

“With that in mind, the Bank of England’s future stance on mortgage regulation is key. If it is relaxed this would provide more headroom for future price growth in the medium term, but it would also reduce the protection it currently affords against a future downturn.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/house-prices-london-post-covid-one-million-neighbourhoods-b975105.html

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