Where foodies go, homebuyers follow: from London Bridge to Elephant and Castle, find new homes in SE1 with farmers' market charm

There is nothing quite like an artisanal sausage roll for supercharging an area’s hotspot potential. In the age of French press, double-brewed coffee and organic falafel and halloumi wraps, it is a truth universally acknowledged that where delis go, home buyers quickly follow. And when it comes to central London locations with farmers’ market charm, nowhere beats Borough.

The bustling heart of SE1 is best known as the home of its eponymous food market, and buyers would have followed — had there been anywhere to buy. The lack of new-build homes is a problem that has plagued the wider, heavily built-up SE1 area that snakes along the Thames from London Bridge to Blackfriars and through Bermondsey to Elephant and Castle.

The cobbled backstreets and riverside walkways make this eclectic district one of London’s bona fide gems. This Zone 1 location is also a commuter’s dream. With London Bridge to the east and Waterloo to the south-west, you would be hard pushed to find better transport connections, in an area so steeped in history.

Somehow the juxtaposition of the ancient winding back alleys and the looming modern-day commercial skyscrapers works. But the piecemeal nature of this postcode poses problems. Stepping off the Thames Path, navigation becomes tricky. Main roads, new buildings with huge ground-level footprints, railway lines and bridges create layers of impenetrable urban fabric. Change is afoot, however.

South side of the river

SE1 has attracted £4.8 billion investment in the past three years, and new residential developments are at last springing up to accommodate a growing local workforce.

The complicated road network beside the railway is set for a pedestrian-friendly upgrade in the form of the Low Line — London’s answer to New York’s High Line walkway.

The Better Bankside Business Improvement District is leading plans to create a street-level walking route along the base of the viaduct connecting London Bridge and Waterloo stations, which will be lined with new bars, restaurants and shops.

More good news for prospective home buyers is that, for now at least, this part of London is relatively affordable.

While the overall average asking price across the whole of the Thames central southern bank is £2.8 million — bolstered by new luxury developments including Battersea Power Station, One Blackfriars and Southbank Place — the average in SE1 is £558,000, falling to £427,000 in Borough according to research by Estates Gazette.

The trick will be catching this market on the upswing before shops, bars and restaurants roll in and fuel a price hike.

If anything proves just how far this part of the South Bank has come in the past three years, it is that the area now has its own dedicated property agent. Union Street Partners was set up in 2014 solely to capitalise on the increasingly active local market.

“This area is growing all the time,” says managing director Mark Fisher. “That’s why we decided it needed its own local adviser.”

The area’s soon-to-be upgraded shopping options could be the clincher behind its future success as a residential hotspot, adds partner Rupert Cowling. “Retail is one of the things that this area has really lacked and, actually, probably continues to lack,” he says.

“But that will change. There is 750,000sq ft of retail planned around the old Vinopolis site alone.”

And he points out that the benefit here will not just be for the local workforce: “The issue with some areas in London is that the retail is a five-day trade. Here it is buzzing seven days a week.”

With big names such as The Ivy brasserie moving into Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge development and the regeneration of Leake Street Arches seeing the arrival of Italian craft beer pub The Italian Job and immersive music venue Aures London, the upgrade is arguably already under way.

Last year, Borough got a boost with the opening of Mercato Metropolitano, a 45,000sq ft artisan food market in a disused factory in Newington Causeway, in a sub-district of SE1 dubbed “So-Bo” — south of Borough.

Southwark council identified 100,000sq ft of space for potential new shops in 2015 along Blackfriars Road, a former no-man’s-land now bookended by St George’s luxurious One Blackfriars residential building to the north and the Elephant and Castle regeneration to the south.

Southwark’s strategy is to “create a mix of quality and distinctive retail to bring animation and life to the street at Blackfriars Road and encourage pedestrian movement between the river and Elephant and Castle.”

Union Street Partners’ Mark Fisher adds that the impact of Better Bankside’s Low Line should not be underestimated.

Running between Flat Iron Square — a redevelopment of seven railway arches west of London Bridge station — and Waterloo, the walkway will create a safe, clear route though a district otherwise full of barriers including buildings, walls and fences.

“By turning the space under the railway line into a walkable route, the appetite from commercial developers and investors has jumped across to the south side of the railway,” says Fisher. “That hasn’t happened for years. It was very much a psychological barrier.”

In terms of the impact this — and SE1’s wider regeneration — has had on new residential development in the area, the pipeline looks strong.

Prices across the board

At one end of the spectrum, prices at Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s 97-flat Belvedere Gardens scheme start at just over £1 million, and One Blackfriars, one of the area’s newest and most high-profile luxury developments, is now taking shape on the skyline, with 273 flats from £1.1 million and an average price of £3 million, rising to £23 million for its 6,000sq ft Kensington Suite.

However, even for those without a spare £1 million to splash, the hope is that a high-end development like this will have a positive knock-on effect for the whole area.

“The South Bank has become recognised as a residential address of choice,” says Nigel Fleming, residential development partner at Knight Frank.

“We have seen a real shift, with buyers from the more traditional central London postcodes now looking at the quality of product on offer, rather than being driven entirely by location.”

Plenty of more affordable options are up for grabs. Prices at Crest Nicholson’s Brandon House development in Borough High Street start at £599,995 for a one-bedroom flat, while at L&Q’s Harvard Gardens scheme in Elephant and Castle prices start at £415,000 for a one-bedroom flat with a two-bedroom home or a four-bedroom duplex starting at £540,000 and £675,000 respectively.

Diverse pricing, then, for a diverse area, but it’s an area on the up. And with Borough Market just around the corner, those artisanal sausage rolls will be ready and waiting to feed the newcomers when they descend.