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London's cheapest homes
Ruth Bloomfield17.04.09
LONDON'S cheapest home has gone on sale for £63,000.
The one-bedroom flat is on the 16th-storey of a tower block in Woolwich and marks a return to the kind of valuation that disappeared during the property boom.
The home, which boasts panoramic views, is a graphic illustration of how far the lower end of the market has fallen during the downturn.
Property experts believe there are no homes in London currently being marketed for less. Details of the flat emerged in a report on the lowest asking prices on properties across London from property website Rightmove.
Miles Shipside, its commercial director, said: "There were a lot of low prices in our snapshot survey of London but the flat, at less than £63,000, was the cheapest of them all."
Homes are now on sale for less than £100,000 in three-quarters of the capital's boroughs.
There are just eight boroughs where house hunters would need to spend more than that to secure a home.
They are Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Brent and Harrow.
At the same time, there are homes for less than £100,000 on sale in some of the capital's most expensive boroughs.
In Kensington and Chelsea the cheapest offering is a studio in a period house, on the market for just under £85,000.
In Richmond - for the same price - flat hunters could consider a one-bedroom home in Hanworth.
There are properties on sale for less than £70,000 in Lewisham, Bexley and Barnet, and for less than £80,000 in Merton, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Croydon and Southwark.
The return of the near-extinct five-figure home in London will be welcome news for first-time buyers who feared they would be permanently priced out. Latest figures from the Land Registry show that 51 properties sold for less than £100,000 in London in December, a third more than a year previously. It is the only price bracket where the number of transactions is on the increase.
Property consultant John Wriglesworth said: "I think this shows that the bottom of the market is nearly here now. Homes are becoming much more affordable to first-time buyers who have been waiting in the wings for months, if not years.
"The other good news is that the latest figures show that lenders are beginning to lend again. The lack of finance has been really crippling. It means that houses are now within reach of the typical first-time buyer. I believe that just as the housing market led us into recession it will lead us out of it too."
Mr Shipside said: "There are deals to be had in today's housing market. Sellers may be in a "must sell" position due to the economic environment and at the same time buyers are in short supply, with many choosing to sit and wait rather than enter the market. Combine these facts and it is clear we are in a buyers' market where sellers must be offering the best price in the area to have any chance of attracting an elusive buyer."
The study excluded all shared-ownership schemes, "offers over" properties and retirement properties.
Reader views (6)
Who would want to live in a hole like Woolwich?I wouldn't move there for a tenner personally.
- Steve, London
It's worth the money for that view alone.
I am experiencing great envy.
- Frank H., London UK.
I bet the Buy-to-Let investors will have snapped up the lot by 5pm this afternoon...
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
To Fraser Telford Park - I don't know if you've lived a particularly sheltered life or if you lack imagination but a lot of people love living high up. I was brought up in a 21st (top) floor flat in Stratford, lived there until I left home and in many ways can recommend it. If the flat in the article is ex-council it's bound to be well built with large rooms. Every type of dwelling has it's pros and cons. With high rise you don't get traffic noise for instance.
- D Woodstock, London
16th floor? What happens when the lifts are broken? I can't see many people wanting to punt up 16 floors with heavy shopping, deliveries etc even at £63,000.00!
With being so high up above ground level does the occupant qualify for a reduction in Council Tax too?
Sevice charges could be quite steep - getting exteriors of windows cleaned on 16th floor can't be very cheap, can it? What about all the other service charges? That could be an extremely surprising "monthly cost" for the buyer, right? Although perhaps in Woolwich these might be substantially less than say, in the Barbican?
Shouldn't think that too many QUALITY mortgage lenders are going to be rushing out to provided mortgage funds for this type of property either! Good luck to the vendor though.
- Fraser, Telford Park
I hope that after this recession is over, God willing, the prices will stay reasonable, as hopefully we will have learnt our lesson that cheap money is not good money...
- Nabil H, London, UK
