Bust, then boom: house prices in Waltham Forest and the City record strongest growth in the capital after being hit hardest in depths of recession

Property values have doubled in Waltham Forest and the City since the depths of the recession; while Newham and Barking & Dagenham in east London have seen the biggest increase in house prices in the last two years.
1/33
Ruth Bloomfield21 July 2017

London’s house prices have increased by almost 60 per cent since the depths of the recession, with values doubling in Waltham Forest and the City.

Exclusive research by Lloyds Bank shows that in 2009 the average price of a property in the capital was £362,641. Today values stand at £578,381.

The research suggests that in a downturn smart buyers ought to make a beeline for areas where house prices are falling fastest, and then wait out the bad times.

Newham and Barking & Dagenham in east London — the two boroughs hit hardest in the recession with falls of 15 per cent between 2008 and 2009 — have seen the biggest increase in house prices in the last two years, up 32 per cent.

Newham average prices soared from almost £270,000 to almost £357,000, while prices in Barking & Dagenham have risen to just over £285,000.

Homes in the Square Mile have increased by 100 per cent since 2009, to an average of just over £900,000 thanks to a surge in top-end new-build homes, in an area which has become increasingly fashionable as a place to live.

The Olympic borough of Waltham Forest, north-east London, has seen similar growth — to an average of just over £433,000 — as buyers have surged outwards from Hoxton and Hackney in search of more bang for their buck.

Even the worst-performing borough, Tower Hamlets in east London, has seen prices increase by 54 per cent in the last seven years to break the £500,000 barrier. Prices stand at just over £513,000.

The recovery was initially led by a boom in values in prime central London, says Andy Mason, mortgage director at Lloyds Bank. However, since 2014, prime prices have stalled while the outer suburbs have started to accelerate, with price growth of 19 per cent in the last two years as buyers ripple outwards.

“Average house prices in the most expensive areas are starting to flatten, whereas London’s most affordable areas are showing healthy growth,” adds Mason.

“A possible explanation for this is the ongoing legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and that outer borough areas like Newham will benefit from the Crossrail link to the City due for completion at the end of 2019.”

London’s most expensive borough is Kensington & Chelsea, with average prices of £1.86 million, while the most affordable place to house hunt is Barking & Dagenham, with its £285,000 average.