You couldn’t want for more: shared ownership flats in Zone 4 west London area set to become a Crossrail hotspot
But when it arrives, the Elizabeth line will cut journey times from the deepest reaches of west London to the West End to about 15 minutes.
First-time buyers keen to take advantage of the new east to west rail link across the capital can do so from just £140,000 at a new development in easy walking distance of both Hanwell and West Ealing stations.
With their bay windows and high ceilings, the homes at Shakespeare Road have clearly taken some style tips from the design of the Victorian houses around them. But inside the finish is modern and simple, with white gloss kitchens and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Buyers looking for a petite property can pick up a 40 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat, sold by housing association Notting Hill Genesis, from £140,000.
As well as mortgage repayments, they will need to pay a service charge of just over £120 a month and rent of just over £481 on the portion of the property they don’t own.
First timers who need more space can buy a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat, also from £140,000. Their service charge increases to £141.90 a month, with rent of £962.50.
There are also some three-bedroom properties, priced from £161,875 for a 25 per cent share. Buyers will need to budget for monthly service charge of just over £148, plus rent at just over £1,112.
“The collection of apartments at Shakespeare Road will offer a fantastic opportunity to buy an affordable home in an area that has been increasingly earmarked as a property hotspot, and not just for the arrival of the Elizabeth line,” says Sarah Butler, commercial director of Genesis.
“Ealing is alive with an abundance of green spaces, thriving independent shops and top-quality restaurants and pubs, and residents of Shakespeare Road can indulge in all of this and more.”
The area does particularly well on the green space test, with Churchfields Recreation Ground and Brent Valley Park just to the west.
In fairness the nearest shops, in Greenford Avenue, are pretty basic, but around Hanwell and West Ealing stations there are much richer pickings such as the Clocktower Café for carb-heavy restorative breakfasts, the Drayton Court Hotel with its enormous beer garden, and The Dodo Micropub in Boston Road.
Ealing Broadway, with its comprehensive range of shops and chains, is a couple of miles away.
WHAT ELSE CAN I BUY?
The hinterland of West Ealing station traditionally offers buyers better value for money than around the more upscale Ealing Broadway.
Buyers with a budget of between £400,000 and £500,000 could opt to buy a high-quality two-bedroom period conversion in a leafy street.
If you’re after a blank canvas, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward is selling a newly renovated two-bedroom flat in Denmark Road for £500,000.
In nearby Argyle Road, Townends estate agents has a two-bedroom garden flat in a Victorian end-of-terrace property for £475,000.