The new Peckham? House prices continue to soar

A house for sale in Lewisham. Pic: Arnau Busquets Guardia

A house for sale in Lewisham. Pic: Arnau Busquets Guardia

As the mass development of the capital continues, average house prices in Lewisham have risen as much as 34 per cent a report has revealed.

According to a report from Home.co.uk, average property asking prices in Lewisham have increased 7 per cent from £446,541 in June 2014 to £476,697 in June 2015. Detached houses have increased 13 per cent this year while semi-detached houses and flats are up by 17 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. However, terraced homes have seen a 1 per cent decrease in their average asking price.

Selling prices in the borough have also seen sizeable growth with average purchases rising by 14 per cent last year. Semi-detached and terraced houses have increased by 34 per cent and 4 per cent but detached homes and flats have decreased by 80 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Yet both the average property price and rent price in Lewisham are below the London average. The average property price in the borough is 23.8 per cent below the London average of £521,194 and the average rent is 35.5 per cent below the London average of £664 per week

House prices in other ELL boroughs have also seen dramatic rises in the past year. Prices in Croydon have risen nearly 16 per cent to £328,282, while neighbouring Newham has seen the largest increase of any London borough with over a 17 per cent increase to £295,306.

Lucian Cook of Savills estate agency believes the gentrification of the borough is the main contributor to rising house prices, saying that, “[Lewisham] has taken over from Peckham as the new on-trend place to buy south of the river.”

Property developers are also keeping a watchful eye over the area as prices soar. Mark Dickinson, managing director from Anthology, a new developer in the capital says: “Lewisham is a thriving borough which has huge potential and is already attracting savvy young buyers, particularly in the media, technology and the arts.”

The development of Lewisham Gateway will also add to rising property prices, promising over 700 new mixed-tenure homes, a new riverside park and hundreds of new jobs by summer 2016.

Of course, the rising of costs housing is bad news for tenants. As the rents continue to increase, more people are still unable to buy their own homes.

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