According to the Evening Standard (ES) house prices in East London have risen 37 per cent in the past five years, compared to only nine per cent in Central London, showing that the area is “shielded from Brexit by long-term transformation and an unwavering desire to live in the coolest part of town.”
In the first of a series of articles in which I want to test the hype around regeneration against reality, I spoke to Mark Campbell, who bought one of the new flats springing up in E16. With a 1200 square foot terrace on the river and an interior you’d find in a design magazine, Mark’s two-bedroom apartment seems like the kind of place that ES is touting as a great investment. And yet he’s struggling to sell it.
Estate agents valued the property as worth between 750 and 850k, so Mark was hoping to get at least 750. “I had twelve offers,” said Mark, “none of them more than 650 – mostly from twats using spreadsheets to calculate the average price per square foot in the E16 neighbourhood and argue the price down – some of them not even visiting the property.”
Mark claimed that, “the recent 3500-unit Royal Wharf made expectations even lower.” Royal Wharf is a residential and commercial development within a village near Thames Barrier Park. The riverside development comes with a concierge, residents’ community centre, cafes, health care services, pool, spa, fitness classes, security services, and a beauty salon. What more could you possibly want?
While many – as the ES quote above shows – argue that Brexit is undermining the housing market, Mark takes a different position. For him it’s not the decision to leave the EU that’s to blame, it’s Brexit uncertainty. “If we had left the EU cleanly when we voted to, I don’t think there would have been the same disruption to the property market”, he said.
Mark is convinced we will never see a return to the “crazy” price rises of the 1990s. Asked whether it is a good time to buy a property, he replied, “It’s always the right time to own your own home if you treat it as an investment for twenty years, not three.”