London house prices: new Land Registry figures reveal the 10 cheapest boroughs to buy a home

Homebuyers in search of the best-value starter homes in the capital should continue to head east and south-east as a new report confirms Bexley as London's most affordable borough.
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Kristy Gray30 March 2016

Despite emerging as one of south-east London's fastest-growing property hotspots, the average price of a home in Bexley is more than £200,000 cheaper than the London average, according to a Land Registry report.

The new figures, which are for sales that have been completed and registered during February this year, show annual growth of 13.5 per cent has pushed the average cost of buying in London to more than £530,000.

By contrast, average prices in Bexley, London's most affordable borough, stand at just £323,000. The leafy borough, at the south-eastern edge of London, is increasingly popular with young families priced out of more central locations.

At the end of 2015, Bexley emerged as London's hottest property market, with prices in little-known St Mary's Village - sometimes known as old Bexley - soaring by 31 per cent in a year.

Barking & Dagenham is the next cheapest borough for homebuyers, followed by Newham, in east London.

In England and Wales, average house prices have fallen slightly since January to £190,000.

David Brown, head of Marsh & Parsons, says “the overall monthly dip in property prices in February disguises the fact that the majority of regions are experiencing striking growth. In the capital, annual growth has climbed to comfortably double the wider England and Wales average."

The west London borough of Hillingdon, one of the Crossrail areas set to benefit most when the Elizabeth line opens in 2018/2019, has had the highest annual price increase of 17.1 per cent, taking the average price of buying a property in areas such as Hayes, Uxbridge and West Drayton to £390,000.