With constant headlines about rising house prices, interest rates and rents, it can be disheartening being a first-time buyer in London.
But new research has uncovered areas in and around the capital with a greater choice of affordable first homes.
The interactive affordability map, created by reallymoving the comparison site for home movers, allows buyers to search for a home by budget and number of bedrooms.
Potential buyers can pinpoint areas in and around the capital where housing is more affordable and there is a greater choice available.
Postcodes on the map highlighted in green indicate 90 per cent or more of properties are within the budget of an average London first-time buyer, while red shows where they’d only be able to access 10 per cent or less of homes.
Where are the most affordable areas to buy a first home?
A quick glance at the map shows that homes in and around the east of London are significantly cheaper than those elsewhere in the capital. Of the 20 most affordable locations, 12 were spread across east London, Essex and Kent.
The average budget for a first-time buyer buying a one-bedroom property in Greater London is £315,000.
According to reallymoving’s map, 99 per cent of one-bedroom properties in Purfleet, in Thurrock, Essex are in (or under) this budget.
With £420,000, the average paid in Greater London for a two-bedroom home, first time buyers can afford 98 per cent of homes in this part of Essex, making it the most affordable location to buy and still be within an easy commute of the capital.
Purfleet-on-Thames, as it’s officially been known since 2020, is located in the Thames Gateway redevelopment area stretching from the Docklands to Tilbury.
It is a big freight terminal but it’s also a conservation area and the location of the Purfleet Garrison Heritage and Military Centre, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
In terms of commuting, you’re very well placed; fast trains from here take 29 minutes, go into Fenchurch Street and cost up to £10 for a peak time return, so you’re likely to save money on your train fare as well as the cost of your home.
The second most affordable postcode for London-based first-time buyers is Gravesend in Kent.
Here, 97 per cent of two-bedrooms and 98 per cent of one-bedrooms are within reach of the average London first-time buyer.
Trains from here go into Charing Cross or Blackfriars, take around an hour and cost up to £36 for a peak return. Alternatively, there’s a 20-minute fast train to St Pancras from nearby Ebbsfleet International.
Highlights include Gravesend Town Pier, the world’s oldest surviving cast iron pier, and a life-size statue of the 17th-century native American princess Pocahontas, who died and was buried in Gravesend.
South Ockenden in Essex was the third on the list with 95 per cent of two-bedrooms in budget for London first-time buyers and 98 per cent of one-bedrooms.
Other affordable areas included Barking in east London, Dartford in Kent and Dagenham.
Affordable postcodes in central London
It will come as no surprise that much of inner London comes up red (largely unaffordable) on the map.
In Hackney, first-time buyers can afford just eight per cent of properties, while in Kentish Town it’s five per cent.
Kensington & Chelsea was the least affordable borough and there wasn’t a single property within the average first-time buyer budget.
It’s worth noting that there were a few inner London exceptions, where house prices are slightly more reasonable and there was a little more choice.
In SE11(Borough/Southwark), SW8 (Battersea/Vauxhall), SE17(Elephant & Castle/Kennington) and E2 (Bethnal Green/Haggerston) 10-30 per cent of properties would fall into the budget of the average London first-time buyer.
“First-time buyers will find the greatest choice of properties by looking east towards east London, Essex and Kent, with affordability hotspots such as Purfleet, Gravesend and Watford all commutable by train into central London within 30 minutes.
“But there are also locations in north, south and west London in the top 20 list, where first-time buyers with an average budget can access huge swathes of the market,” says reallymoving CEO Rob Houghton.
“I would urge first-time buyers to focus their search on the areas with good transport links which offer them a really wide choice of properties, rather than assuming a purchase is unachievable.”
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