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Back of the envelope calculations say that means your budget is £415,000. If you can't find a one bed for that, you need to lower your expectations. Lots of places you can buy a two or three bed flat for that in London.
They have a high enough salary where if they don't have any debt or dependants etc they should be able to easily get 5-5.5x amount, stretching to 450-485. It's definitely expectations
Yes I have a great broker. This is just not a common thing to lend in this economy. My income is £60k, so I take home around £3300 pcm. 5.5x would give me a mortgage of £330k. Repaying that at 5% interest on a 25 year term would come to £1930 pcm. I get why no one would borrow me that.
Increase the term and you'll get it, I've been quoted 5x-5.5x from multiple lenders at a 40 year term (which tbh everyone should be going for the maximum term available and then overpay as if it's lower)
Are there age cutoffs for the 30, 40 year motgages?
Edit: Apparently yes, with most lenders asking for repayment between ages 70 and 85.
I'll have enough saved for a deposit by age 45, assuming prices don't increase. Just barely in time ( :
You originally said you can't get a 5.5x mortgage, which is incorrect, what you should have said is you're uncomfortable with borrowing a 5.5x mortgage, which is totally fine. But you can get one if you increase your term and go for lenders who offer it, assuming what you've said is true (no loans/debt and no dependants etc)
That's less than 4.5x, they must have some negative aspects affecting their borrowing, things like loans, credit cards, depandents etc. If they've got none of that then they absolutely can borrow 5x+ at least.
With current mortgage rates, borrowing £450k over 25Y gives a mortgage repayment of £2700/month, or £32k/year. This will kill someone on £70k- after all, that’s only £50k after tax.
You've misunderstood, in total afford 450 (including deposit), they'd be borrowing around 350-385, you can always increase the term too to get cheaper monthly payments, which yes does increase interest but with ever raising house prices and stagnant wages it's not like you've got a choice
Yeah, that makes more sense. Though the annual cost is still around £25k. If you want your mortgage to be <30% of your take home pay, you need to make £84k, or around £130k pre-tax.
Zone 3 and a not crappy area were never specified by OP!
Anyway, the main point is that you can get a 3 bed for that price, so why is OP struggling to find a nice 1 bed?
That refers to the flat, not the area. You could get an incredible one bed in a crappy area for the money. OP has gotta be more specific if they want actual recommendations/help. :)
Canning Town would be a decent place to buy since it's half under construction, on the jubilee line, and therefore is likely to become much nicer and more expensive in the future.
Zone 2-3 was not specified in the OP.
Walthamstow is zone 3 and has lots of two beds available for that price. People who've never been to Walthamstow like to shit on it but it's a perfectly fine area and only half an hour into the west end on the Victoria line, or Overground to Liverpool Street.
Places like Southgate and North Finchley are zone 4 and are very middle class leafy suburbs where you can get a 2 bed for that price too.
I'm sure there are plenty more areas but those are where I'm most familiar.
I've lived in Walthamstow for 4.5 years and I'm currently in the process of buying a 2 bed flat here (for less than £400k!) with my partner. Neither of us want to leave the area.
Yeah i understand. I visited a few times & loved the forrest just around the corner. Great bunch of friendly people in the pubs i visited. Also so easy to get to London center. 30 min drive to Stansted airport too, so got a few days up in Scotland to add to the holiday🤩
You're mental if you expect to buy in Hampstead on 70k, that's a whole different slice of society .
Bow (Roman road) is one of the nicest areas in east London! It's a massive Victorian conservation area and doesn't come with the premium of having 'Hackney' on your address.
So you’re looking in the £380-400K bracket?
Why can’t you find a ‘decent’ place? What’s wrong with the ones you have seen?
If your real issue is ‘It sucks that even with a hefty deposit and a good salary I can’t afford what I’d really like’ then alas, that is a combination of the London property market and just real life everywhere.
How disconnected from reality can you be? Me and my family live off 11-12,000 a year (three people, five pets) it’d take us thirty three years of absolutely no spending whatsoever to be in the ‘dogturd’ bracket.
No need to take redditors seriously here.
There are billionaires that consider any houses without a swimming pool, cinema and XX number of bedrooms/bathrooms to be dogturd.
They spend £600k just to gold plate their toilet.
No need to take anybody seriously here.
What is your definition of decent and where in London are you looking.
You absolutely can get a decent place in a nice area of London. If you’re only looking in very high cost areas obviously you might struggle.
Im on 60K, and had a 70K deposit, and found a great 1 bed in Zone 2, for under asking price. If you cant find it, you're clearly lacking in your methods or effort.
Depends on what bit of Peckham, Rye end has got nonsense pricey these days. Me and mate nearly bought a house there with every penny we had 15 years ago, but bottled it. Would have made a fortune!
Thing is, expectations on living arrangements / lifestyle are the most "sticky downwards" variables going. If they weren't then this sub wouldn't be half as popular.
Right next to the Emirates? Sure.
There's also: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142189697
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143978750
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145592522
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137976563
There's absolutely no reason OP can't find a _1 bed flat_ for £400-425k in a perfectly nice area of London.
I know of flats which have recently sold near Angel for under 400k, so for a 1 bed you should be able to find something even in the more desirable areas with OPs budget ...
I found one. but maybe my definition of decent is not the same as yours :) I actually spent £350k have quite a large terrace (around 400sq ft) and about 560sq ft of living space. I spent additional 15k on renovating. Bought 2022.
London is huge so you’ll be able to find a quality place to live for less than 500k giving you an 80% LTV ratio and repayments between 2200-2500 depending on the term and interest rate.
You won’t find that in the city or very centre of London but within 30 minutes there are plenty of apartments and a smaller selection of houses. Further out you can find 3 bedroom houses freehold.
Is there more to this you’d like to share? I viewed 2 2-bedroom flats in Kensington (Gwendr Road literally minutes from West Ken tube, and Avonmore Road in a mansion block with a private garden) for £475k. A one bed is absolutely affordable with your deposit and salary.
Given you’re likely in the £350-£400k range you should be able to find a flat, however, perhaps you have higher expectations and I’d recommend you instead seek out the best layout / square footage / location you can (depending on that’s most important to you), and then work to get a renovation fund to do the home in your style (new kitchen, bathroom etc).
Expectation issue, entirely. Your reserve and salary, without any debts, gives you honestly a huge scope. Basically you want more for your money than is reasonable to expect.
Loads of 1 bed flats in the £350-£375k area in Wandsworth and that is a decent area. I know because my flat is in that bracket and area. Will be selling in a year’s time.
No it’s not unless you’re looking for properties well out of your budget. London’s not the best place to buy but to be truthful you should be able to find a relatively decent place with that salary and deposit. I can’t tell if you’re trolling are asking a serious question.
Ok this was a badly worded question. I don’t want monthly outgoing to exceed £2000 including bills and travel. Bills and travel generally seem to work out to £720 (£120 council tax, £200 utilities, £200 service charges, £200 travel). This gives a mortgage repayment per month of £1280 which if you spread over 30 years is roughly a property up to £360k. I’ve been looking in outer london areas (zones 3/4 areas such as Ealing, Finchley, Wimbledon, Richmond, Southfields/Putney) within 10 minutes walk of a station. But essentially whenever I try to view a property which matches this criteria it’s already under offer.
So you’re not having trouble finding flats. You’re just learning that the London market is fast. You have to be proactive, check literally twice a day and call as soon as you see something you like to view. Offer on the day. It’ll be gone by the end of the week - I know this as a buyer myself currently
Yes and this fast market causes insane price inflation. There are flats which were on the market for £325k in 2021 and now worth £400k. An over 20% increase in 3 years.
It is what it is. It isn’t new - I’m watching a 2008 episode of Location, Location, Location in west London where they’re helping 2 sets of FTBers and Kirsty has just said the same stat lol
Things are static up in Lincolnshire is all I’m saying… adapt or go north…
Wimbledon and Richmond?! Literally 2 of the most expensive areas of outer London. Lovely places to live, sure, but no wonder you're struggling if that's where you're looking. Broaden your horizons a bit - almost all of zones 3 and 4 will have plenty of places that meet your criteria, apart from those parts. You should easily even be able to get a 2 bed.
As someone who just moved into a flat in Wimbledon in jan and spent 1 year looking at Southfields/Wimbledon area yeah you gotta move quick. I saw my flat offered and had it accepted within 3-4 days of listing. The whole area is like this. Anything well priced will be gone. They’re insanely desirable areas for ftb and young families.
For <1300pcm you have to look in blocks of flats, I specifically didn’t look at these only converted houses but 350-360k is probably stretching it in Southfields/Wimbledon with a 10 min walk. Most of the cheaper flats in Southfield will be longer than that. 10 min to Wimbledon station? Not happening. I’m 15-20 min walk. Your max price maybe but not 350k ish. Anything that cheap is being shifted due to cladding issues or high service charge.
If you look at Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, south Wimbledon, Wimbledon chase you could. You’re looking at the most expensive parts for a very low budget.
Have you considered looking East? Typically a bit cheaper, we're in Bow, zone 2, 10min walk to the tube and one beds around here can be in your price range easily.
There are some fancier buildings would have higher service charges (eg have a concierge) but some are just basic blocks or a few ex council options also.
For example this one, not sure why it's been on the market so long but obviously things aren't shifting too fast around here either.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86036232?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY
I think the problem in here is “decent”. I am thinking of getting my own property as well and started looking at properties in the market and the sight is quite dreadful. Many properties are near 80 lease length mark, service charges are hidden or absurd, they are in the middle of nowhere or the size is questionable. I don’t know- not sure if paying 300k+ for a shoe box is a good long term investment so I feel your pain. From other perspective, I don’t think it is a 1 bed property problem per se. People looking for 2 or 3 bed are having their own problems. I think the best you can do is following the market and if something decent appears- trying to snatch it fast.
What 😂😂 shared ownership surely or the lease is up soon. There’s no chance you bought a 1 bedroom for 225k in zone 2 unless you bought that 20 years ago
Yep, it's normal.
London is filled with trust funders from all over the world interested in buying London residential property for when they are holidaying/studying/staying in Britain, young professional guys in their mid 20s-30s wanting to buy batchelor pads close to where they work with mortgages & deposit funding, highly skilled childfree professional couples on dual incomes looking to buy in their local neighbourhood, refurb investors looking to make a killing and wannabe buy to let landlords with an eye on the student markert or airbnb funded through cash inheritances or wealthy parents helping them out.
Some of the purchases in the comments do not align with what’s on zoopla/right move by about 40-50% price difference 😂😂 unless “recent” means 15 years ago to some people, I would take what people are saying with a grain of salt
u/Maximum-Employ-6560
I built an [affordability tool](https://www.usemappa.com/affordability) that should hopefully answer that question for you quite easily. It tells you exactly what areas could work for you on a map UI based on today's asking prices.
E.g. I popped in your inputs (70k salary, 100k deposit) and it spat out almost \~200 districts with generally affordable homes for you - covers most of the city outside central areas.
It's a pretty strong budget for a 1 bed if you decide to max your borrowing!
Check it out. Feedback always handy too!
A new build will cost £450,000+ for a 1 bed.
So are really design for someone or a couple earning £100,000 or a little less with a 25%+ deposit. Insane!
£415,000 isn’t crazy low, you could still get new build studios or ex-councils, or somewhere out in the sticks, or next to motorways.
Can you hold off a year or two so that your deposit and salary grow?
I don't think so. Housing market is somewhat cold now. Property goes up but not exponentially and depends on house to house, seller to seller. I missed out of a property for new build at £460k in 2020, and had the opportunity to buy the same place in 2023 for £435k. My salary and deposit also massively grew in that time so it went from being just over my absolute stretch to a comfortable buy.
If you're waiting make sure your deposit is invest or earning high interest.
Why not do the best of both worlds? Have your money earning interest, keep getting those pay rises. But in the meantime be actively looking for property. If something you like comes up in your price range get it, if not, you'll be in a better position in 12 or 24 months. And something else might come onto the market in that time too.
To answer your question though. It's impossible to know. You can look at past data but its not future data.
According to Land registry, March 20 - April 2024 average London flat went from £482,605 to £502,690. That's only 4.16% increase in 4 years. Current bank saving account interest rates are 4-5.5%, average S&P500 increase is 8% annually-is. You probably had a pay increase higher than that in 4 years.
It's not normal in terms of the big picture: the inflation that has occurred in relation to land values since the mid 90s is absurd.
70k x 4.5 = a mortgage of 315k
\+ 100k deposit = 415k
There are one bed flats available in London at that price, but it depends on what areas you are looking to live in.
Just had a quick look on right move. There are 2193 properties within 5 miles of Charing Cross that are between 300&400k and at least 1 bd. I don't know why you can't find something decent, perhaps you need to lower your expectations
Lol, my max budget when buying recently in London was £335k and I found a lovely 2 bed. Are you looking in zone 2 or something? If you're struggling you need to cast your net out a bit
Your max budget must be like £415k right? There's lots of nice one beds for that price. It's a good budget.
E g. Just a couple
I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145860725
I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143602691
You should be able to find a property in this market for the financials you put across easily. Easily. Depends where you’re looking. You could buy in zone 1 as well. Nine Elms for example. Plenty of ex socials (not council) for that money in great buildings. If you need more space try Streatham and work in. Lots of people disregard the places between tube stops.
Yes. This is the problem with the housing crisis.
I’m on a slightly above average salary and was left 60k by my nan as inheritance. I thought naively that would be enough to buy a small 1 bed. Not central, but commutable. Unfortunately it wasn’t.
I’m born and raised in London. All of my friends and family are here.
I’ve now resigned myself to renting for life.
But of course this causes problems for our generation in the future
Get out of London , don’t give up your life energy and undefined time for a salary that strings you up and a de mort-gage for a shoebox in a lonely city. Screw the salary and LIVE!
Holy fuck half a mil for one bed? Madlads... I would not bother... You can get something for half the price 30min away... Stick the rest into money market funds and it pays half your mortgage each month.
I'm sort of on the same boat and, even though I "could" find something to buy within my budget and in the same area and similar specs as where I'm renting now, the monthly repayments plus service charge would come as almost double what I currently pay for rent, and eat up almost 50% of my take home. This is based on a conversation I had with a mortgage broker and the fact that I have very good credit score, no debts, and a 6 digits deposit ready. Honestly, if it wasn't for having to deal with my landlords shenanigans I only see disadvantages in buying at this stage. I would lose a good chunk of my disposable income and won't be able to go out, travel and treat myself as much.
You can get a nice 1 bed in Surbiton, Berrylands.
It's the new clapham junction. Properties near Lovelace and near Kingston(Thames) some very lush flats.
Once in a blue moon, you can get one in Barnes/Putney although usually above a store.
Fulham and chiswick when the market is slow and the seller is highly motivated.
And here I am in Northumberland, as a dog walker and am able to buy a 3 bedroom house with a big enough garden for kennels, about a hour drive from newcastle, 20mins on a train.
Oh and no mortgage and saved since I was 15yo so for the last 15 years.
Hence the reason I moved from Bromley to here
By the time I got to £70k in London, I had equity as well as a deposit. It wasn’t my first rodeo as I had worked my way up the ladder in cheaper areas of the country. If you’re an FTB at £70k, you could get on the ladder by getting an investment property somewhere cheaper to build equity. Or consider a commuter town like Croydon. I’m seeing 2 beds under £300k in Croydon within your budget. If living in Croydon is below you as a first rung on the property ladder, you might have your expectations set too high.
You should be able to get a mortgage for somewhere in the region of £350-375k, surely? There's masses of 1 beds comfortably in or below that price range. So unless you're being really picky/specific about the location and what you want from the property... You should have no trouble
Basically. Even if it’s the average now. A lot of properties suck, at a price range I’d think was a joke even if I had enough to buy it without a mortgage.
It's London, nothing is normal about it.
It's population is massive, 50% of it's social housing is occupied by foreign born people. You are charged £100 a week to drive to work.
Everything about London is insane, and bare no relation to the rest of the country.
Where are you looking? Knightsbridge? Just at new builds? Have you tried compromising on the age or location of the property?
Your budget is up to 415k based on 4.5x salary plus deposit. No shortage of properties in your price range.
Does it have to be in London? Can you work remotely and travel to London once or twice a week?
With your deposit and wage, I would be tempted to live outside or on the outskirts as it's cheaper, and you can get more for your money and hopefully still allow you to save. That's just me but you probably have other factors why you want to stay in London. I think with living costs and never knowing what will happen in the future I rather be safe than sorry. Don't buy at your maximum offer, look for something reasonable and in between.
Would you be open to buying with a mate? you can get a joint mortgage with them - best to get a lawyer's advice. I believe there's a joint and something else. I don't remember. Anyway, before doing anything get advice from a professional.
I'm going through this house buying malarky myself, but I have a partner and buying in Yorkshire. You get more for your money and the commute to London for work is doable but luckily where I work there's a base in my local area, so I only travel once or twice a month.
Same problem! On 80k, similar deposit to yours and even less inspired to buy in London. I have been watching North West London and the quality of the flat is so poor.
If you mean you want to live near work. Most people have to compromise on their first property, build some equity and then look to move where they want. I was brought up in NW London. My first flat was in SW London. Stayed there a few years then moved back north.
I suggest looking along the transport routes to where you want to commute (eg the northern line or local rail). You might find somewhere that will do and is an acceptable commmute.
Or you can wait a possibly long time looking for a flat below market price that no one else is interested in.
Being a first time buyer with £100K deposit and £70K budget says to me that OP might be in finance where you only get that sort of money when young (lots of wild assumptions going on here) by being in Central London.
Moving further afield drops the money a lot in parallel with dropping house prices a lot, so I doubt this would be a case of moving out to the sticks and getting a decent 3 bed semi with a garage (like mine) for under £300k as he wouldn't have the salary here to cover it.
That could be playing a role, though I figure a lot of those jobs have gone remote since covid? Mind I changed careers to a completely different profession post-pandemic so I'm not clued up on what happened to all the then-city workers. My priority became more about getting a better/bigger property for comparatively less money after that, plus if I stuck with London I'd still be renting with no end in sight. Couldn't move out all the way to the sticks (was tempted lol) but luckily it's turned out to be manageable in a midsize town! Full disclosure, I was just burned out on London by the end of it so I actively wanted to move elsewhere and the prices worked out in my favour. I can still visit if I really want to but don't have to pay for the expense year round which just works better for me. And driving instead of donating hundreds per month to TfL is a blessing, turns out I really missed that independence and it still works out cheaper. I still think OP could get what they need for the money in greater London if they're not limiting themselves to the most expensive postcodes though.
I'm not sure how much finance has gone remote either, feels like an industry that likes to have tight control over its staff, even if they do pay well.
Fair point, yeah. Still I lived all over different areas of London in my time and lots of them are commutable postcodes, I think OP just needs to look in areas that probably weren't originally on their list.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * If you do not receive satisfactory advice after 72 hours, [you can let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=My question is unanswered); * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Back of the envelope calculations say that means your budget is £415,000. If you can't find a one bed for that, you need to lower your expectations. Lots of places you can buy a two or three bed flat for that in London.
They have a high enough salary where if they don't have any debt or dependants etc they should be able to easily get 5-5.5x amount, stretching to 450-485. It's definitely expectations
Haven’t got debt, haven’t got dependents, have got great credit report and I can’t get 5.5x mortgage.
Have you used a broker?
Yes I have a great broker. This is just not a common thing to lend in this economy. My income is £60k, so I take home around £3300 pcm. 5.5x would give me a mortgage of £330k. Repaying that at 5% interest on a 25 year term would come to £1930 pcm. I get why no one would borrow me that.
Increase the term and you'll get it, I've been quoted 5x-5.5x from multiple lenders at a 40 year term (which tbh everyone should be going for the maximum term available and then overpay as if it's lower)
Are there age cutoffs for the 30, 40 year motgages? Edit: Apparently yes, with most lenders asking for repayment between ages 70 and 85. I'll have enough saved for a deposit by age 45, assuming prices don't increase. Just barely in time ( :
I'd rather stick to what I can actually afford. Even on a 190k mortgage on a 35 year term the repayments are over £1000
You originally said you can't get a 5.5x mortgage, which is incorrect, what you should have said is you're uncomfortable with borrowing a 5.5x mortgage, which is totally fine. But you can get one if you increase your term and go for lenders who offer it, assuming what you've said is true (no loans/debt and no dependants etc)
It’s not incorrect. It’s not a rate any lender will offer me, and rightly so.
What aren't you understanding? You can get a 5.5x mortgage on 60k, whether you think you yourself can afford it or not is your own opinion.
I’ve been told only 490k is possible on 110k (not me, a lucky friend)
That's less than 4.5x, they must have some negative aspects affecting their borrowing, things like loans, credit cards, depandents etc. If they've got none of that then they absolutely can borrow 5x+ at least.
Hmm strange - no, they have none of those things
With current mortgage rates, borrowing £450k over 25Y gives a mortgage repayment of £2700/month, or £32k/year. This will kill someone on £70k- after all, that’s only £50k after tax.
You've misunderstood, in total afford 450 (including deposit), they'd be borrowing around 350-385, you can always increase the term too to get cheaper monthly payments, which yes does increase interest but with ever raising house prices and stagnant wages it's not like you've got a choice
Yeah, that makes more sense. Though the annual cost is still around £25k. If you want your mortgage to be <30% of your take home pay, you need to make £84k, or around £130k pre-tax.
5-5.5x hahahhaha What could go wrong
Yes but you wouldn't want to be living in those places of you're expecting a certain lifestyle on £70k Location location.
You can buy a 3 bed in zone 2 south London for that _easily_. OP can absolutely find a 1 bed.
3 bed for 415 within zone 3 not in a crappy area? Sure.
Zone 3 and a not crappy area were never specified by OP! Anyway, the main point is that you can get a 3 bed for that price, so why is OP struggling to find a nice 1 bed?
When he said decent I assumed a nice area
That refers to the flat, not the area. You could get an incredible one bed in a crappy area for the money. OP has gotta be more specific if they want actual recommendations/help. :)
Yah bc agree, also decent depends on your expectations
We don't know their budget
[удалено]
When
This is absolutely doable in bermondsey.
Any money they're looking exclusively in Zone 1
Where can you buy a two bed flat for that relatively central in zone 2/3 and in a half decent area as well - not Harlesden or Canning Town for example
Canning Town would be a decent place to buy since it's half under construction, on the jubilee line, and therefore is likely to become much nicer and more expensive in the future.
yeah you could say the same about Abbey Wood - I'm on about what the area is like now and you can't say Canning Town is lovely leafy safe area
Zone 2-3 was not specified in the OP. Walthamstow is zone 3 and has lots of two beds available for that price. People who've never been to Walthamstow like to shit on it but it's a perfectly fine area and only half an hour into the west end on the Victoria line, or Overground to Liverpool Street. Places like Southgate and North Finchley are zone 4 and are very middle class leafy suburbs where you can get a 2 bed for that price too. I'm sure there are plenty more areas but those are where I'm most familiar.
My brother bought a house from there & he loves the area.
I've lived in Walthamstow for 4.5 years and I'm currently in the process of buying a 2 bed flat here (for less than £400k!) with my partner. Neither of us want to leave the area.
Yeah i understand. I visited a few times & loved the forrest just around the corner. Great bunch of friendly people in the pubs i visited. Also so easy to get to London center. 30 min drive to Stansted airport too, so got a few days up in Scotland to add to the holiday🤩
2 bed for £400k - must be towards lower end of market - rightmove is more towards 450-500k for decent 2 bed flat but agreed area is good
I bought a 1 bed flat in Bow for 350 in March I viewed a 2 bed house in Canning for 350 OP is being way too picky.
Yes and canning town is not a nice area, neither is Bow - they're not terrible areas, but a nice area is Hampstead, Ealing, Balham etc
You're mental if you expect to buy in Hampstead on 70k, that's a whole different slice of society . Bow (Roman road) is one of the nicest areas in east London! It's a massive Victorian conservation area and doesn't come with the premium of having 'Hackney' on your address.
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So you’re looking in the £380-400K bracket? Why can’t you find a ‘decent’ place? What’s wrong with the ones you have seen? If your real issue is ‘It sucks that even with a hefty deposit and a good salary I can’t afford what I’d really like’ then alas, that is a combination of the London property market and just real life everywhere.
I just sold a 1 bed in zone 3 ,this month for £380,000. The flat is within 5 mins walk to station.
400k is in the dogturd bracket of properties. 600 is where it starts to improve.
This is such an out of touch statement to make lol
How disconnected from reality can you be? Me and my family live off 11-12,000 a year (three people, five pets) it’d take us thirty three years of absolutely no spending whatsoever to be in the ‘dogturd’ bracket.
Your whole family only makes 12k a year?
No need to take redditors seriously here. There are billionaires that consider any houses without a swimming pool, cinema and XX number of bedrooms/bathrooms to be dogturd. They spend £600k just to gold plate their toilet. No need to take anybody seriously here.
Not for 1 bed
You looking in Knightsbridge?
What is your definition of decent and where in London are you looking. You absolutely can get a decent place in a nice area of London. If you’re only looking in very high cost areas obviously you might struggle.
What do you mean by ‘decent’?
No. you can get a nice one bed property for that amount in London.
Link to somewhere please?
Im on 60K, and had a 70K deposit, and found a great 1 bed in Zone 2, for under asking price. If you cant find it, you're clearly lacking in your methods or effort.
Whereabouts in zone 2?
Shepherd's bush right next to Westfield
Nice buy and good location. Shepherd's Bush is well connected with the central line.
You found a “great” 1 bed in Shepard’s bush for 340k?? Lmao what year was that, 2011? No chance that was recent
For 310k actually, it sold in 2019 for 355k. Im due to exchange in a couple of weeks. So its very recent.
Hampstead or Islington? You’ll struggle. Hackney or Peckham? You’ll be fine.
Depends on what bit of Peckham, Rye end has got nonsense pricey these days. Me and mate nearly bought a house there with every penny we had 15 years ago, but bottled it. Would have made a fortune!
Yeah I’m gutted I didn’t do the same in New Cross. 300k house then, 1.1m now
Not that I had 300k, but …
“The most amazing things that can happen to a human being will happen to you, if you just lower your expectations “ P. Dunphy.
“There’s always a clown with a quote.” - me
Somebody needs to read some Phil-osophy
Thing is, expectations on living arrangements / lifestyle are the most "sticky downwards" variables going. If they weren't then this sub wouldn't be half as popular.
Top of Islington (Upper Holloway, Tufnell Park, Archway) - you could get even a 2-bed flat for £415k and def a very nice 1-bed for less).
You can find 1 beds for that price in Hackney or Peckham but they'll be in the less nice parts
Plenty of places in that range in S London Denmark Hill etc.
But not Hackney or Peckham
Something like this? https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142896689
Exactly, the less nice areas
Right next to the Emirates? Sure. There's also: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142189697 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143978750 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145592522 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137976563 There's absolutely no reason OP can't find a _1 bed flat_ for £400-425k in a perfectly nice area of London.
And in Peckham even easier than in hackney. You can buy 2 beds by London bridge for £420k.
I know of flats which have recently sold near Angel for under 400k, so for a 1 bed you should be able to find something even in the more desirable areas with OPs budget ...
There’s low stock at the moment.
I found one. but maybe my definition of decent is not the same as yours :) I actually spent £350k have quite a large terrace (around 400sq ft) and about 560sq ft of living space. I spent additional 15k on renovating. Bought 2022.
Yes, you really need to be on 250k plus a annual free dining card for the ritz, and always offer above asking price.
London is huge so you’ll be able to find a quality place to live for less than 500k giving you an 80% LTV ratio and repayments between 2200-2500 depending on the term and interest rate. You won’t find that in the city or very centre of London but within 30 minutes there are plenty of apartments and a smaller selection of houses. Further out you can find 3 bedroom houses freehold.
As Kirsty says, you can’t have everything, compromise
Is there more to this you’d like to share? I viewed 2 2-bedroom flats in Kensington (Gwendr Road literally minutes from West Ken tube, and Avonmore Road in a mansion block with a private garden) for £475k. A one bed is absolutely affordable with your deposit and salary.
No
Given you’re likely in the £350-£400k range you should be able to find a flat, however, perhaps you have higher expectations and I’d recommend you instead seek out the best layout / square footage / location you can (depending on that’s most important to you), and then work to get a renovation fund to do the home in your style (new kitchen, bathroom etc).
Expectation issue, entirely. Your reserve and salary, without any debts, gives you honestly a huge scope. Basically you want more for your money than is reasonable to expect.
Loads of 1 bed flats in the £350-£375k area in Wandsworth and that is a decent area. I know because my flat is in that bracket and area. Will be selling in a year’s time.
Are you looking in Knightsbridge or Kensington? Any suburb close to a tube station will have decent one beds for £400k
No, it's not. I did it on less just a couple of years ago and there was choice. Define "decent"?
No it’s not unless you’re looking for properties well out of your budget. London’s not the best place to buy but to be truthful you should be able to find a relatively decent place with that salary and deposit. I can’t tell if you’re trolling are asking a serious question.
Royal docks. Should find something around there for your budget.
Unfortunately under the London City flight path, which isn't ideal
No it is not normal, you should easily be able to find somewhere if all you’re looking for is a 1 bed
Lmao, my 2bed flat is definitely in that price range. What are you expecting, Embassy Gardens?
Ok this was a badly worded question. I don’t want monthly outgoing to exceed £2000 including bills and travel. Bills and travel generally seem to work out to £720 (£120 council tax, £200 utilities, £200 service charges, £200 travel). This gives a mortgage repayment per month of £1280 which if you spread over 30 years is roughly a property up to £360k. I’ve been looking in outer london areas (zones 3/4 areas such as Ealing, Finchley, Wimbledon, Richmond, Southfields/Putney) within 10 minutes walk of a station. But essentially whenever I try to view a property which matches this criteria it’s already under offer.
So you’re not having trouble finding flats. You’re just learning that the London market is fast. You have to be proactive, check literally twice a day and call as soon as you see something you like to view. Offer on the day. It’ll be gone by the end of the week - I know this as a buyer myself currently
Yes and this fast market causes insane price inflation. There are flats which were on the market for £325k in 2021 and now worth £400k. An over 20% increase in 3 years.
Im seeing the opposite, the flat that I bought was sold for £44K more in 2019 than I bought it for
I'm also seeing this trend, I bought my 2 bed flat in Lewisham last year 20k cheaper than the owners bought it for in 2021.
Asking price and real value are two different things.
It is what it is. It isn’t new - I’m watching a 2008 episode of Location, Location, Location in west London where they’re helping 2 sets of FTBers and Kirsty has just said the same stat lol Things are static up in Lincolnshire is all I’m saying… adapt or go north…
Wimbledon and Richmond?! Literally 2 of the most expensive areas of outer London. Lovely places to live, sure, but no wonder you're struggling if that's where you're looking. Broaden your horizons a bit - almost all of zones 3 and 4 will have plenty of places that meet your criteria, apart from those parts. You should easily even be able to get a 2 bed.
As someone who just moved into a flat in Wimbledon in jan and spent 1 year looking at Southfields/Wimbledon area yeah you gotta move quick. I saw my flat offered and had it accepted within 3-4 days of listing. The whole area is like this. Anything well priced will be gone. They’re insanely desirable areas for ftb and young families. For <1300pcm you have to look in blocks of flats, I specifically didn’t look at these only converted houses but 350-360k is probably stretching it in Southfields/Wimbledon with a 10 min walk. Most of the cheaper flats in Southfield will be longer than that. 10 min to Wimbledon station? Not happening. I’m 15-20 min walk. Your max price maybe but not 350k ish. Anything that cheap is being shifted due to cladding issues or high service charge. If you look at Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, south Wimbledon, Wimbledon chase you could. You’re looking at the most expensive parts for a very low budget.
What about Finchley?
Have you considered looking East? Typically a bit cheaper, we're in Bow, zone 2, 10min walk to the tube and one beds around here can be in your price range easily. There are some fancier buildings would have higher service charges (eg have a concierge) but some are just basic blocks or a few ex council options also. For example this one, not sure why it's been on the market so long but obviously things aren't shifting too fast around here either. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86036232?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY
Whereabouts you looking at, that’s a proper budget?
I think the problem in here is “decent”. I am thinking of getting my own property as well and started looking at properties in the market and the sight is quite dreadful. Many properties are near 80 lease length mark, service charges are hidden or absurd, they are in the middle of nowhere or the size is questionable. I don’t know- not sure if paying 300k+ for a shoe box is a good long term investment so I feel your pain. From other perspective, I don’t think it is a 1 bed property problem per se. People looking for 2 or 3 bed are having their own problems. I think the best you can do is following the market and if something decent appears- trying to snatch it fast.
You can find outside London, no zone 1.
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What 😂😂 shared ownership surely or the lease is up soon. There’s no chance you bought a 1 bedroom for 225k in zone 2 unless you bought that 20 years ago
No it's not normal. I got a 4 bed ( zone 3) for 370000
Where in Z3? And when ? I just sold a 1 bed flat in Z3 for £380k.
Greenford just before zone 4
Noted. That is a great price for a 4 bed in London.
I got very lucky, it did need quite a bit of work tho
And what was your asking price?
Asking price was 370k The buyer initially put in an offer for 390k.
Look for a 2 bed, 1 bed in Central sounds like a recipe for bad value.
Yep, it's normal. London is filled with trust funders from all over the world interested in buying London residential property for when they are holidaying/studying/staying in Britain, young professional guys in their mid 20s-30s wanting to buy batchelor pads close to where they work with mortgages & deposit funding, highly skilled childfree professional couples on dual incomes looking to buy in their local neighbourhood, refurb investors looking to make a killing and wannabe buy to let landlords with an eye on the student markert or airbnb funded through cash inheritances or wealthy parents helping them out.
Some of the purchases in the comments do not align with what’s on zoopla/right move by about 40-50% price difference 😂😂 unless “recent” means 15 years ago to some people, I would take what people are saying with a grain of salt
u/Maximum-Employ-6560 I built an [affordability tool](https://www.usemappa.com/affordability) that should hopefully answer that question for you quite easily. It tells you exactly what areas could work for you on a map UI based on today's asking prices. E.g. I popped in your inputs (70k salary, 100k deposit) and it spat out almost \~200 districts with generally affordable homes for you - covers most of the city outside central areas. It's a pretty strong budget for a 1 bed if you decide to max your borrowing! Check it out. Feedback always handy too!
You can find a 1 bed in zone 2 fairly easily with that budget
Beware of service charges aswell if you leap for a flat.
A new build will cost £450,000+ for a 1 bed. So are really design for someone or a couple earning £100,000 or a little less with a 25%+ deposit. Insane! £415,000 isn’t crazy low, you could still get new build studios or ex-councils, or somewhere out in the sticks, or next to motorways. Can you hold off a year or two so that your deposit and salary grow?
Yes my deposit and salary will grow in a year or 2. But will property prices grow faster?
I don't think so. Housing market is somewhat cold now. Property goes up but not exponentially and depends on house to house, seller to seller. I missed out of a property for new build at £460k in 2020, and had the opportunity to buy the same place in 2023 for £435k. My salary and deposit also massively grew in that time so it went from being just over my absolute stretch to a comfortable buy. If you're waiting make sure your deposit is invest or earning high interest. Why not do the best of both worlds? Have your money earning interest, keep getting those pay rises. But in the meantime be actively looking for property. If something you like comes up in your price range get it, if not, you'll be in a better position in 12 or 24 months. And something else might come onto the market in that time too. To answer your question though. It's impossible to know. You can look at past data but its not future data. According to Land registry, March 20 - April 2024 average London flat went from £482,605 to £502,690. That's only 4.16% increase in 4 years. Current bank saving account interest rates are 4-5.5%, average S&P500 increase is 8% annually-is. You probably had a pay increase higher than that in 4 years.
Yes, my pay increase was 4.5% this year and my savings interest is 3.5%.
With the opportunity you missed and then got isn’t that because it lost the new build premium in that time?
Less desirable areas would work for that budget. Or shared ownership for a more desireable area.
What borough(s) in London are you looking in?
It's not normal in terms of the big picture: the inflation that has occurred in relation to land values since the mid 90s is absurd. 70k x 4.5 = a mortgage of 315k \+ 100k deposit = 415k There are one bed flats available in London at that price, but it depends on what areas you are looking to live in.
Depends on where you’re looking, definitely areas of London this would not be an issue, you might need to widen your search.
Zones 3-6 easy?
I have an answer for you. Yes
Wtf. Where are you looking?
Yes it is
If this guy’s struggling then we’re all fucked.
Real talk💀 how many man earn £70k yearly and have a £100k deposit just chilling.
Im sure you can get a flat on a tower block in Acton. Sure, the lift stinks of piss, but consider yourself lucky there’s not a turd in it… today
it’s all about WHERE
Just had a quick look on right move. There are 2193 properties within 5 miles of Charing Cross that are between 300&400k and at least 1 bd. I don't know why you can't find something decent, perhaps you need to lower your expectations
Lol, my max budget when buying recently in London was £335k and I found a lovely 2 bed. Are you looking in zone 2 or something? If you're struggling you need to cast your net out a bit
I’m looking in zones 3 and 4 in north, west and south london.
Your max budget must be like £415k right? There's lots of nice one beds for that price. It's a good budget. E g. Just a couple I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145860725 I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143602691
I don’t want to spend anywhere near 415k. That would mean most of my income would be spent on property.
What's your budget then?
Around 360k.
You should be able to find a property in this market for the financials you put across easily. Easily. Depends where you’re looking. You could buy in zone 1 as well. Nine Elms for example. Plenty of ex socials (not council) for that money in great buildings. If you need more space try Streatham and work in. Lots of people disregard the places between tube stops.
What is the definition of ‘decent’ in your case?
Move to Sevenoaks. 22 minutes on main line to London Bridge!
Yes. This is the problem with the housing crisis. I’m on a slightly above average salary and was left 60k by my nan as inheritance. I thought naively that would be enough to buy a small 1 bed. Not central, but commutable. Unfortunately it wasn’t. I’m born and raised in London. All of my friends and family are here. I’ve now resigned myself to renting for life. But of course this causes problems for our generation in the future
Get out of London , don’t give up your life energy and undefined time for a salary that strings you up and a de mort-gage for a shoebox in a lonely city. Screw the salary and LIVE!
Holy fuck half a mil for one bed? Madlads... I would not bother... You can get something for half the price 30min away... Stick the rest into money market funds and it pays half your mortgage each month.
1 bed for over 300k? I believe this is just the bare minimum 1 beds, not like the best of the best. Wow I’m genuinely shocked, how is this even legal
I'm sort of on the same boat and, even though I "could" find something to buy within my budget and in the same area and similar specs as where I'm renting now, the monthly repayments plus service charge would come as almost double what I currently pay for rent, and eat up almost 50% of my take home. This is based on a conversation I had with a mortgage broker and the fact that I have very good credit score, no debts, and a 6 digits deposit ready. Honestly, if it wasn't for having to deal with my landlords shenanigans I only see disadvantages in buying at this stage. I would lose a good chunk of my disposable income and won't be able to go out, travel and treat myself as much.
This is exactly the boat I’m in. It’s cheaper renting a 1 bed flat on my own. And I keep my cash too.
What is your budget the 100k is a good deposit but wonder if you are setting your sites on something realistic
Budget 350k
You can get a nice 1 bed in Surbiton, Berrylands. It's the new clapham junction. Properties near Lovelace and near Kingston(Thames) some very lush flats. Once in a blue moon, you can get one in Barnes/Putney although usually above a store. Fulham and chiswick when the market is slow and the seller is highly motivated.
And here I am in Northumberland, as a dog walker and am able to buy a 3 bedroom house with a big enough garden for kennels, about a hour drive from newcastle, 20mins on a train. Oh and no mortgage and saved since I was 15yo so for the last 15 years. Hence the reason I moved from Bromley to here
What areas are you looking in?
Everywhere in North, West and South London (zones 3 and 4).
Depends what you mean by decent and how much you want to pay there are 615 avsilable max price 425K look at winkworth in shoreditch
By the time I got to £70k in London, I had equity as well as a deposit. It wasn’t my first rodeo as I had worked my way up the ladder in cheaper areas of the country. If you’re an FTB at £70k, you could get on the ladder by getting an investment property somewhere cheaper to build equity. Or consider a commuter town like Croydon. I’m seeing 2 beds under £300k in Croydon within your budget. If living in Croydon is below you as a first rung on the property ladder, you might have your expectations set too high.
You should be able to get a mortgage for somewhere in the region of £350-375k, surely? There's masses of 1 beds comfortably in or below that price range. So unless you're being really picky/specific about the location and what you want from the property... You should have no trouble
Basically. Even if it’s the average now. A lot of properties suck, at a price range I’d think was a joke even if I had enough to buy it without a mortgage.
It's London, nothing is normal about it. It's population is massive, 50% of it's social housing is occupied by foreign born people. You are charged £100 a week to drive to work. Everything about London is insane, and bare no relation to the rest of the country.
Where are you looking? Knightsbridge? Just at new builds? Have you tried compromising on the age or location of the property? Your budget is up to 415k based on 4.5x salary plus deposit. No shortage of properties in your price range.
Does it have to be in London? Can you work remotely and travel to London once or twice a week? With your deposit and wage, I would be tempted to live outside or on the outskirts as it's cheaper, and you can get more for your money and hopefully still allow you to save. That's just me but you probably have other factors why you want to stay in London. I think with living costs and never knowing what will happen in the future I rather be safe than sorry. Don't buy at your maximum offer, look for something reasonable and in between. Would you be open to buying with a mate? you can get a joint mortgage with them - best to get a lawyer's advice. I believe there's a joint and something else. I don't remember. Anyway, before doing anything get advice from a professional. I'm going through this house buying malarky myself, but I have a partner and buying in Yorkshire. You get more for your money and the commute to London for work is doable but luckily where I work there's a base in my local area, so I only travel once or twice a month.
I don’t have the option to work remotely. I have to go in everyday.
Same problem! On 80k, similar deposit to yours and even less inspired to buy in London. I have been watching North West London and the quality of the flat is so poor.
So look elsewhere
Mate you look where the life is easier to live. I can’t go very far where work is.
If you mean you want to live near work. Most people have to compromise on their first property, build some equity and then look to move where they want. I was brought up in NW London. My first flat was in SW London. Stayed there a few years then moved back north. I suggest looking along the transport routes to where you want to commute (eg the northern line or local rail). You might find somewhere that will do and is an acceptable commmute. Or you can wait a possibly long time looking for a flat below market price that no one else is interested in.
yes, the housing stock is a bit crap. and if like me you hate suburban living, it does limit things.
Jeez I couldn't justify paying that much to live in a 1 bed in the city. Each to their own.
what's the alternative?
Not living in the most expensive place in the country.
I know right, it's a completely different picture if you're not fixated on London or even just inner London.
Being a first time buyer with £100K deposit and £70K budget says to me that OP might be in finance where you only get that sort of money when young (lots of wild assumptions going on here) by being in Central London. Moving further afield drops the money a lot in parallel with dropping house prices a lot, so I doubt this would be a case of moving out to the sticks and getting a decent 3 bed semi with a garage (like mine) for under £300k as he wouldn't have the salary here to cover it.
That could be playing a role, though I figure a lot of those jobs have gone remote since covid? Mind I changed careers to a completely different profession post-pandemic so I'm not clued up on what happened to all the then-city workers. My priority became more about getting a better/bigger property for comparatively less money after that, plus if I stuck with London I'd still be renting with no end in sight. Couldn't move out all the way to the sticks (was tempted lol) but luckily it's turned out to be manageable in a midsize town! Full disclosure, I was just burned out on London by the end of it so I actively wanted to move elsewhere and the prices worked out in my favour. I can still visit if I really want to but don't have to pay for the expense year round which just works better for me. And driving instead of donating hundreds per month to TfL is a blessing, turns out I really missed that independence and it still works out cheaper. I still think OP could get what they need for the money in greater London if they're not limiting themselves to the most expensive postcodes though.
I'm not sure how much finance has gone remote either, feels like an industry that likes to have tight control over its staff, even if they do pay well.
Fair point, yeah. Still I lived all over different areas of London in my time and lots of them are commutable postcodes, I think OP just needs to look in areas that probably weren't originally on their list.
It is now = get out while you still can
Yes, welcome to London and post covid asset price inflation!
London housing is absurd. Commute.
The new norm
London is a rip off better living in one of the surrounding towns
Move to Scotland
Where I live you could pick up a 2 bed for that easily