Good news for those looking to buy in Croydon! House prices have dropped, making it a potential hotspot for bargain hunters.
Despite London house prices continuing to climb, Croydon is bucking the trend. Last month saw a 0.7% dip in average house prices in the borough, bringing the average cost down to £392,840. This is in stark contrast to the rest of London, where prices shot up by a whopping 3.9%.
This isn’t a one-off either. Croydon property prices have been steadily falling for a while now, with an annual decrease of 1.2%. This means that over the past year, the average Croydon house has lost almost £5,000 in value.
Is Croydon the most affordable borough in London?
While prices in Croydon might be falling, they’re still a long way off from the cheapest in London. That title goes to Barking and Dagenham, with an average house price of £338,000.
At the other end of the scale, Kensington and Chelsea remain firmly out of reach for most, with an eye-watering average price of £1.2 million – that’s three times the price of a similar property in Croydon!
What does this mean for first-time buyers?
First-time buyers in Croydon are in a particularly good position. The average price they paid for a property in May was £330,300, which is £4,000 less than a year ago.
What type of property is cheapest?
Flats in Croydon saw the biggest drop, with prices falling by 0.9% in May to an average of £276,796. Over the past year, flat prices have fallen by 1.3%.
Here’s how other property types in Croydon are performing:
- Detached: down 0.4% monthly; down 2.3% annually; £815,795 average
- Semi-detached: down 0.6% monthly; down 0.7% annually; £536,715 average
- Terraced: down 0.5% monthly; down 1% annually; £393,449 average
Here’s a quick roundup of the key figures:
Average property price in May
- Croydon: £392,840
- London: £523,376
- UK: £285,201
Annual change to May
- Croydon: -1.2%
- London: +0.2%
- UK: +2.2%
Highest and lowest annual growth in London
- Merton: +4.9%
- Westminster: -22.7%
So, if you’re looking to get a foot on the property ladder, Croydon might just be the place to be. With falling prices and great deals to be had, it could be the perfect opportunity to finally get your dream home.