Buying in London: the top 10 cheapest postcodes in Zone 2

Zone 2 starts at the Congestion Charge boundary and embraces 126 Tube stations, stretching to Acton in the west, Archway in the north, Poplar in the east and Brixton in the south.

Many areas have average prices below £500,000.

New Cross is one of the cheapest Zone 2 address and has excellent transport connections: six-minute trains to London Bridge; an Overground service plus one stop to the Jubilee line interchange at Canada Water. It’s scruffy in parts, but smartening up and prices are tempting buyers across the river.

Not all good-value Zone 2 areas are quite as gritty.

Kennington, where the average home costs £500,285, has quiet garden squares, and St Agnes Place is a new addition to the compact network of Georgian and Victorian terraces. The 43-home scheme beside Kennington Park has flats from £450,000. Launching soon are period-style four-storey townhouses, from £1.3 million. Call L&Q (0333 0033 660).

Corio, close to Tower Bridge and fashionable Shad Thames, has 167 flats priced from £450,000. Call 020 3811 6272.