Buying your own home is one of the greatest life-changing decisions a person can make – but in London, it pays not to umm and aah over putting in a bid for too long, according to a new report by Rightmove. The property website has published its list of London’s top ten fastest property-selling locations, with Leytonstone sweeping its way to victory with an average of just 34 days to sell a home.
The East London area has had something of a renaissance in recent years, a bohemian place beloved by hipsters as well as families looking for affordable three-bedroom properties. Rightmove’s report shows the average house price in Leytonstone is £533,836 – easily putting it in the more accessible vein for first-time buyers.
Neighbouring Walthamstow is comfortably in second place on Rightmove’s list with an average selling time of 38 days, followed by nearby Leyton in third place with an average of 40 days to shift a property. On average, properties in London are taking 70 days to sell.
From then on, it’s a longer wait time. In fourth place is Eltham in South East London with an average span of 48 days – a markedly longer eight days compared to Leyton. Romford in East London comes in at fifth place with fifty days, followed by Crystal Palace and Middle Park both in South East London coming in jointly in sixth place at 51 days.
Rightmove reports that “eastern areas are leading the way” in London, adding: “Leytonstone in East London has overtaken Walthamstow as London’s quickest market, where homes are now selling in 34 days on average. However, London’s quickest markets are generally moving more slowly.”
The Sunday Times ranked Walthamstow as the best place to live earlier this year. This comes after Penge was named the ‘coolest’ place to live in London this year, also by the Sunday Times – it seems being cool isn’t everything these days.
Walthamstow is a “delightful neighbourhood” according to the paper, “more like a village” than part of a city of a population nearly 10 million strong. The judges said the area has it all, being “diverse, vibrant and cool without being frosty”, with hipster hangouts, independent shops and restaurants, handsome Victorian housing stock, calming green space, excellent public transport (Victoria line’s Walthamstow Central) and, imminently, West End-quality culture, courtesy of the new 1,000 seat Soho Theatre which is opening this summer.
Elsewhere, Leyton was named as one of the world’s 38 coolest neighbourhoods by TimeOut, joining the likes of Casablanca and Rio de Janeiro. This unassuming borough in North East London is popular with families and is more peaceful than the hustle and bustle of the city centre.
The area is located in Zone 3, and sits within the borough of Waltham Forest, which borders Essex and Hertfordshire to the east and north respectively.
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