Where to buy in London 2017: Olympic boroughs Waltham Forest and Newham revealed as boroughs with fastest house price growth in the capital

Latest figures reveal London's Olympic host boroughs are back on top, with some of the highest property price rises in the capital over the past year...
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Lizzie Rivera15 May 2017

Waltham Forest has raced ahead of all other London boroughs for house price rises, with growth of 15.7 per cent over the past 12 months.

Home to Walthamstow and Leytonstone, two popular areas with first-time buyers and young families, the east London borough now has average house prices of £453,000 - more than £60,000 higher than this time last year, according to the latest Land Registry house price index.

Neighbouring Newham, which takes in Stratford, Canning Town and the Royal Docks, experienced similar growth, with house prices increasing by an average of 14 per cent to £372,000.

This is in no small part due to the "Olympic legacy" where the boroughs have benefited from regeneration schemes and improved transport links.

"It's still possible to buy houses in both these boroughs for less than £500,000 which makes it very attractive to families - as do the local amenities, fantastic sports facilities on your doorstep and plenty of green spaces," says Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com.

However, the price rises are also a consequence of the "ripple effect of affordability", according to eMoov's CEO Russell Quirk, who says that buyers priced out of more desirable and central Hackney are moving to nearby Waltham Forest and Newham.

He says: "It is an all too familiar story in the capital that when one area reaches peak levels of unaffordability, those priced out of the market look for the next best option.

"These boroughs have benefited from vast regeneration schemes and the addition of a considerable level of new housing. So not only are buyers finding a bargain, close to the ‘trendy’ area they wanted to be, they are also finding that where they can afford is actually on the way up itself."

London house prices at a glance
House prices across London increased at half the rate of Waltham Forest and Newham, rising by an average of 7.3 per cent, with homes in the capital selling for an average of £491,000.

The largest rises are still seen in the outer boroughs, where homes are significantly cheaper than the London average, including east London's Barking and Dagenham (£289,000), Havering (£354,000) and Redbridge (£413,000), which all saw growth of over 11 per cent.

Meanwhile, the prime central London market is still experiencing very modest growth and price falls - largely due to the impact of last year's stamp-duty changes and economic and political uncertainty, including the Brexit vote.

Prices in Kensington and Chelsea, London's most expensive borough where properties sell for an average of £1.35 million, saw growth of 0.5 per cent.

However, price falls of under one per cent were seen in the City of Westminster and the City of London taking prices to £1.02 million and £733,000 respectively.