New research reveals lack of affordable homes in London

With the average price for a property in London now exceeding £500,000 new research shows that just 46% of home listed matches this price or less. The analysis from fixed fee estate agent eMoov examined current stock levels across all of the major portals, recording the total levels listed for each London borough, before comparing this to the level of stock listed for £550,000 or less. The research then took the total stock under £550,000 and recorded it as a percentage of the total level of stock across the capital. The worst location for affordability was Kensington and Chelsea with just 6% of properties for sale at £550,000 or less, followed by Westminster at 7%, Hammersmith and Fulham at 14%, Camden also at 14%, Wandsworth at 22% and Islington at 25%. A further 13 of London’s boroughs had just 50% or less of its stock listed for the average price of £550,000 or under. “The boroughs that did offer more for those with a budget of half a million were Hounslow at 57%, Bromley at 61%, Waltham Forest at 64%, Enfield at 65%, Hillingdon at 65%, Lewisham at 66%, Redbridge at 72%, Greenwich at 72%, Newham at 78%, Croydon and Sutton both at 79%, Havering at 84%, Bexley at 91% and Barking and Dagenham at 97%,” reported by propertywire. ‘It’s no surprise to anyone that the majority of London is unobtainable to many from a property point of view. However, this research highlights just how out of reach the capital actually is for UK home buyers, even for those with the sizable budget of £550,000,’ said eMoov chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘For many the average house price is a benchmark, a mile stone, on just what they need to have in the bank to live in a certain area. But this average price masks the true cost of living in the capital or even where in the capital you can live for that matter,’ he pointed out. ‘When you consider that even with that sort of healthy budget, you would have to restrict your property search by removing more than half of the properties currently for sale in the capital, it really highlights how little £550,000 can get you in the London market,’ he added.