High-rise housing block in Hackney. Pic: Tarquin Binary
Hackney has been revealed as London’s most in-demand borough for buyers searching for a home because ‘everything is on the doorstep’ according to a local estate agent.
Lewisham is also among London’s top 10 boroughs with the most sought after property alongside Islington, Haringey, Lambeth, Southwark, Waltham Forest, Merton, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
New data from Rightmove tracks the number of enquiries sent to local estate agents per property to determine the most sought after property markets by borough.
House prices across London have declined steadily in the past year. Prior to this slump, house prices in Hackney rose more than in any other UK local authority since 1998, surging by a staggering 568 per cent over two decades.
The average asking price of a home in Hackney currently stands at £626,095 following an annual drop of almost five per cent.
Local estate agent Tom Jones at Savills in Hackney said the borough’s growth in popularity over the past decade has been kick-started by rising prices in nearby Islington and the surrounding areas, pricing out buyers who naturally began to migrate east.
Jones told Eastlondonlines: “During that time we had new bars and restaurants opening, with good transport links that meant it was close to the city.
“With the launch of the East London Line [now the Overground] it made it really easy to get to Liverpool Street and the West End, and Hackney has amazing green spaces with areas like Victoria Park.
“The area attracts those working in the City and young families, propelled by the fact it has everything on the doorstep.
“There were lots of areas in Hackney where there were hardly any shops or bars, but now there are little pockets all around the borough that has made it more accessible as a whole.
“Areas such as Upper Clapton, which were not popular five years ago, are now where people want to be.”
Out of the boroughs of Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Croydon, Croydon has the lowest average house price this year with £437,195 and an annual decrease of -2.2 per cent.
Lewisham has a similar average house price at £464,200 and an annual change of -3.5 per cent.
Hackney and Tower Hamlets also experienced a decrease in annual change with -4.9 per cent and -6.1 per cent respectively.
Hackney’s average house price is £626,095 and is the highest of the four boroughs, whilst Tower Hamlets is ranked second with an average price of £559,475.
Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea are the only boroughs in London to have an average house price of over one million pounds, making them the most expensive areas in the capital.
Barking and Dagenham has the lowest average house price of any London borough at £316,839 and is the only area to have an average price lower than £400,000.
Islington, an area with an average asking price of £770,123, is one where families tend to settle for the long-term, though new developments along the Regent’s Canal will open the area up to younger buyers with a higher disposable income.
The borough of Southwark, which stretches all the way from Camberwell and Peckham to South Bank, has an average asking price of £634,232.
Properties from period homes to new builds and social housing can be found throughout this borough.
In Lambeth, London’s fourth most in-demand borough, average asking prices are now £632,590, whilst in Haringey the average cost of a home now stands at £602,170.
