It appears as though younger buyers are being drawn to Inner London, which might go someway to balance the homeowners leaving for the outskirts of the capital.
A study suggests that for the first time in five years, there is a greater number of young buyers buying property in the heart of London as opposed to the outer reaches of the capital.
With Camberwell being located in the travelcard zone 2, it is reasonable to expect many buyers will hold an interest in this part of the capital.
With the London Borough of Hackney fall in Zone 2, this is an area many buyers hold an interest in.
First-time buyers heading to Zones 2 and 3
The study carried out by Hamptons International indicates that homes sold to first-time buyers in Inner London rose from 28% of all sales before lockdown to 35% of all sales after lockdown. At the same time, the proportion of properties sold to first-time buyers in Outer London, Zones 4, 5 and 5, dropped by 5%, from 26% to 31%.
David Fell is an analyst at Hamptons, and he said; “There has undoubtedly been a shift in buyer preferences over the last five months towards having space both inside and out. But this shift has been less pronounced among first-time buyers. They put their location and surrounding activities over household space. So, while some second and third steppers have increasingly chosen outer London over inner, first-time buyers have not been swayed in the same way.”
There is no denying the stamp duty holiday helps people afford property in London, the benefits are mainly attributed to existing homeowners. However, first-time buyers might find the savings are of benefit to them too.
As of December 2020, Rightmove states; “Properties in Camberwell had an overall average price of £549,504 over the last year. The majority of sales in Camberwell during the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £443,815. Terraced properties sold for an average of £842,150, with semi-detached properties fetching £965,438. Overall, sold prices in Camberwell over the last year were 3% up on the previous year and 5% up on the 2016 peak of £521,446.”
With the stamp duty holiday in place, buyers can save up to £15,000; so, it is easy to see why so many people are looking to move sooner rather than later.
Katie Clutterbrook, a known-name in the property market in London, said; “If they can get their deposit together, low interest rates make a mortgage very often cheaper than renting. This, coupled with the stamp duty holiday and Help to Buy, means that this summer we were far busier with genuine enquiries from first-time buyers than we have been in previous summers.”
JLL’s head of residential research Nick Whitten said; “The uptake of Help to Buy in London since the lockdown is booming. First-time buyers are aware that it will be phased out in a few years and that the stamp duty holiday ends in March. They think there is a small window in which to buy.”
The Inner London boroughs are classed as:
- Camden
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Islington
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Southwark
- Tower Hamlets
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
If you are looking for guidance or information regarding the housing market, please get in touch with Hunters Camberwell. As a local estate agent who has the support of a national network, we are ideally placed to provide you with all the help and guidance you need to make an informed decision, so please contact us today.
