Nine Elms Point: Zone 1 shared-ownership flats in a regeneration hotspot for £113,750

New skyscrapers are sprouting out of the ground at Nine Elms like spring grass. This monster of a regeneration zone, the largest seen in London’s Zone 1, indeed, one of the largest in the country, is transforming an urban wasteland into a riverside neighbourhood to rival the Southbank or Bankside with ease.

The most expensive flats in this 480-acre hotspot are changing hands for up to £9 million — but first-time buyers could move in for as little as £113,750.

Housing association Affinity Sutton has 52 shared-ownership flats at Nine Elms Point, a Barratt London development at Nine Elms, on offer to buyers who have been priced off London’s frankly terrifying housing ladder.

Prices start at £113,750, which would buy a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat. For £161,250 you could take a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat. And for £225,000 you could secure a quarter share of a three-bedroom home. Service charge is likely to start from £230 per month.

The properties will be ready to move into in late summer, and Affinity Sutton is expected to officially launch the homes for sale next month. Anyone living within the London boroughs is eligible to apply.

SUPERB RIVER VIEWS

Nine Elms Point is one of the largest developments at Nine Elms, a veritable linear village with almost 600 apartments in seven separate buildings including a 37-storey tower, all designed by leading architects Broadway Malyan.

“It is really a stunning development, ultra-modern, and with fantastic views across the River Thames,” says Bob Beaumont, director of sales and marketing at Affinity Sutton. “I remember Nine Elms when it really was a bit of a dump, industrial and horrible, and the change in the area is unbelievable. It really is up and coming, and the location is so good I can’t believe nobody built it out sooner.”

Nine Elms Point sits at the western end of the site, just off Wandsworth Road and close to Vauxhall Tube station in Zone 1 on the Victoria line. This means it will be handy for the new Nine Elms station which is expected to be completed by 2020 and which will segue into the Northern line.

The location also means that residents will not be reliant on waiting for the next few years for all the new attractions that Nine Elms promises, from a food market, to waterside cafés and restaurants, to the regenerated Battersea Power Station complex.

It is seconds from Vauxhall Park, while Battersea Park is a little further away but worth the walk. Vauxhall City Farm is nearby, and you could happily eat out at a different restaurant or café along and around the Lambeth Road every day for a month.

THE KNOWLEDGE: VAUXHALL

Past: until regeneration began Nine Elms was an urban wasteland, scarred by railway lines and littered with disused factories and empty car parks.

Future: the Nine Elms development will include 20,000 new homes, 600,000 square metres of office space and dozens of new shops.

Trivial pursuit: the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is where Paul O’Grady made his debut as Lily Savage.

What it costs: an average flat in the SW8 postcode sells for £754,697 according to Rightmove.

First-time buy: for best value in this area look around Wandsworth Road station. Foxtons has a two-bedroom flat in a low-rise brick-built block on the market for £389,950.

Landmarks: the £620 million new American Embassy building, due to open next summer, will resemble a giant sugar cube surrounded by a moat.

Eat: the Vauxhall Street Food Market is a summer fixture under the arches at Vauxhall station. Ostrich burger anyone?

Drink: grab a Brunswick Martini at Brunswick House in Wandsworth Road. The griddled gingerbread is recommended.

Shop: Brunswick House is also the home of legendary Lassco, with its amazing antiques and architectural salvage.

Walk: with plans for two new Thames bridges, it will one day be possible to walk across to Pimlico or Chelsea Harbour. For now there is the Thames Path to enjoy.