London housing

delta0 · 5 Dec 2012 at 12:20

krooton said:
West London in general is the most expensive.

1. W8, Kensington, £1,873,866.

2. SW7, Knightsbridge, £1,430,863.

3. SW3, Chelsea, £1,425,385.

4. W11, Notting Hill, £1,302,763.

5. SW10, West Brompton, £1,140,593.

6. NW3, Hampstead, £1,022,748.

7. SW1, Westminster, £1,010,228.

8. W1, West End, £987,191.

9. GU25, Virginia Water,£968,009.

10. SW13, Barnes, £958,871.

Yes it is and east is generally the cheapest.

delta0 · 5 Dec 2012 at 12:23

Freefaller said:
When I moved to the country I lived in Dulwich - lovely place.

Lived in Putney as well - which was lovely too. The problem with most South london areas, even in Putney area is that you're reliant on the District line which is awful, unless you have good overground service.

I actually quite like SE London, but that's because I live about 10 min walk from Blackheath and far enough away from Woolwich and Lewisham not to feel like I'm there

Agreed 100% - SW and NW London are nice - Hampstead is wonderful. It's a shame it carries such a premium though

I also agree about commuting from SW being a PITA - it seems the best transport links are either in relatively central London, or north of the River :/

District, I hated that line. Jubilee FTW!

krooton · 5 Dec 2012 at 12:24

delta0 said:
Yes it is and east is generally the cheapest.

I can't think of single place NE of the river I would be happy to live in, even around Canary Wharf only works for flats, nothing in the way of houses I would like.

Richmond and Surbiton are my would-love-to-but-would-never-be-able-to-afford areas to live.

Nexus · 5 Dec 2012 at 12:27

Eliot said:
Also people mentioning bad areas etc etc is a load of rubbish.
Subject to a few exceptions London is not so simple as "nice" and "horrible" areas.
Is the sort of place where you have groups of streets that are nice.
But around any corner can be a **** hole.
There are also places like dalston, which may not look great. But are actually ok areas.
You cant apply the same formula to it that you might apply to Newport/Cardiff or Bristol to take a few examples.
Each of those has nice and not nice areas. Usually clearly defined

This is so true.

There are of course so many people in London living from the state, so there has to be housing provision provided for them. The reality though is that most of the housing has existed long before more modern housing has. So while you may get a street with traditional town houses on it, it may be right next to a huge estate. Even new developments are the same, as I know myself, because these days a proportion of them has to be reserved for 'key workers', the reality of that is that most are just benefit scum.

The only places in London which don't have such problems are areas of Central London, take Kensington and Knightsbridge for example, however there you are living in Little Dubai.

Areas like Hampstead Village, Highgate etc are also really nice and don't have so much in the way of social housing, but then they are pretty much out of the price range of most.

I'd also add that while the East may be cheaper, its only when you start getting further East. The East End is now really popular since the Hipster crowd made Shoreditch popular, so there are many businesses starting there, especially in creative industries and landlords are pushing rents up because people want to be there. Plus you've got a considerable amount of property being built near the Olympic Park with a huge infrastructure around it.

rogan · 5 Dec 2012 at 13:23

700? i pay more than that for a bedroom in a 5 bed house

People saying shoreditch/east is cheap are definitely wrong... further east yes, shoreditch is way overpriced just now, its the new Camden, becomes cool, prices rise, and slowly becomes a 'nice' area rather than a 'cool' area

anything I don't mind · 5 Dec 2012 at 14:39

700? i pay more than that for a bedroom in a 5 bed house

Well you are paying too much then. I hope it is a nice room.

I know it is possible just rare. I rent a one bed for 650. So they are definitely out there, just finding them.

krooton · 5 Dec 2012 at 14:42

groen said:
Well you are paying too much then. I hope it is a nice room.

I know it is possible just rare. I rent a one bed for 650. So they are definitely out there, just finding them.

A decent room in a decent house is pretty much guaranteed to be £600+ in any London area that isn't a craphole.

You will NOT find a decent one bed for the money you want, not even a decent studio.

delta0 · 5 Dec 2012 at 14:49

A room in a house is a lot cheaper, but in the last year the prices of those have risen a lot because they are popular. Getting a property to yourself is hard on a tight budget.

Freefaller · 5 Dec 2012 at 15:02

There are places on gumtree which are 500 or so all in - but that is for a houseshare. 500 all in is a pretty good deal. You're going to struggle I think mate

delta0 · 5 Dec 2012 at 15:12

Rent is just the basic cost; council tax, bills and commuting on top need to be considered. Also food costs are higher unless you have access to a large supermarket.

anything I don't mind · 5 Dec 2012 at 15:14

Yes all the costs are already considered. Like i said i already pay £650 rent and i can increase that to probably 750. on top of that it has 220 train 100 council tax etc. But thanks for your help ill look in the areas suggested.

Freefaller · 5 Dec 2012 at 15:21

Do you not have any friends in London you could share with as an alternative? I know it's not ideal, but you'd save a lot of cash?

anything I don't mind · 5 Dec 2012 at 15:24

I don't have any friends.

I could go back in to sharing but I have been living by myself now for a few years and I prefer it.

Thing is I don't think the sharing realy saves that much cash. If you get a decent room you could probably save £100-200 compared to renting 1 bed like i do now.As i spend a lot of time on my pc I would end up living in my bed room if i shared. All things considered if i can get a 1 bed for 700 or so it works out better than sharing.

Freefaller · 5 Dec 2012 at 16:15

Sorry to hear of your friend situation

I'll go out for a pint with you if you want!

I understand the "wanting your own space" thing.

I guess you just have to manage your expectations as to what you think you can get and perhaps sacrifice some of the luxuries you're after.

regulus · 5 Dec 2012 at 16:33

groen said:
I don't want to house share, I have done that and I much prefer living by myself.

What I don't understand is who lives in these houses for £300-400 per week because the area is full with people that definitely do not look like they spend £1800 per month on rent.

For the most part they'll all lifelong benefit claimants. A lot of our contractors live in Islington which is a rather pricey area. From the guys I've spoken to, they're all, literally every single one of them, in council accommodation, paying between 70-90 a week in rent. Depending how much income they can hide :rolleyes:

Problem is that in London, everyone is playing the system. I guess you have to if you want to live here. Find your little short cuts and all that.

benjo · 5 Dec 2012 at 19:02

Thought I'd share my experience so far. Today I secured a clean, modern furnished studio (oven, washing machine, walk in closet, shower room) for £670 per month, which includes council tax and water rates. Located in Finchley Central within walking distance of my new job. Pretty happy

physichull · 5 Dec 2012 at 19:17

I've never lived in London and likely never will, but this thread has been a bit eye-opening. Can't believe how much people pay and just accept it as being "the norm". I understand that there is little choice but to pay through the nose, but that's a lot compared to "up north''.

delta0 · 5 Dec 2012 at 20:19

benjo said:
Thought I'd share my experience so far. Today I secured a clean, modern furnished studio (oven, washing machine, walk in closet, shower room) for £670 per month, which includes council tax and water rates. Located in Finchley Central within walking distance of my new job. Pretty happy

Good going. Northern line is not bad.

Scam · 5 Dec 2012 at 20:30

physichull said:
I've never lived in London and likely never will, but this thread has been a bit eye-opening. Can't believe how much people pay and just accept it as being "the norm". I understand that there is little choice but to pay through the nose, but that's a lot compared to "up north''.

Unfortunately there is a hell of a lot of wrong with the housing market in London. A million things have combined to make prices rise and rise and rise. Namely the benefits system, and ability for foreign investors to buy houses willy nilly, without ever planning on living in them. London property is nothing but a cash cow for investors nowadays. Ordinary folks can't get a look in. Did you see the article yesterday on how on the 20 most expensive streets in London, 1 in 5 homes are owned by foreign companies. I'm betting they're all empty too. Any new flats in desirable areas are snapped up by investors to buy-to-let, or even just hold onto for afew years to make some easy money. It really is a right mess.

I think anyone that buys a home in London needs to prove that they're going to live in it.

physichull · 5 Dec 2012 at 20:33

Scam said:
Unfortunately there is a hell of a lot of wrong with the housing market in London. A million things have combined to make prices rise and rise and rise. Namely the benefits system, and ability for foreign investors to buy houses willy nilly, without ever planning on living in them. London property is nothing but a cash cow for investors nowadays. Ordinary folks can't get a look in. Did you see the article yesterday on how on the 20 most expensive streets in London, 1 in 5 homes are owned by foreign companies. I'm betting they're all empty too. Any new flats in desirable areas are snapped up by investors to buy-to-let, or even just hold onto for afew years to make some easy money. It really is a right mess.

I think anyone that buys a home in London needs to prove that they're going to live in it.

Depressing reading. And frankly, to add to that, it traps thousands, if not millions of people in the rental market without ever a hope of them owning their own place. That's the most depressing point of all.