Get on the ladder in Walthamstow: shared-ownership flats near the hipster hotspot's other station are for sale
The ascent of Walthamstow — “Awesomestow” to locals — is one of the big stories of the post-recession London property market, with buyers squeezed out of Hackney colonising E17 and imaginative regeneration projects providing great facilities including the world-class William Morris Gallery and Europe’s largest urban wetland park.
Walthamstow Central is now a hipster hotspot styled “Walthamstow Village” by estate agents, and prices have risen accordingly. An average flat in E17 now costs £375,000, says Rightmove, while the most expensive two-bedroom flats on sale there now top £600,000.
Unsurprisingly these prices are edging first-time buyers further east towards Wood Street station, where Feature 17, a new Countryside Properties development named in honour of the long-defunct silent film studios once based in Wood Street, has shared-ownership homes for less than £90,000.
There will be 436 new homes, with almost four in 10 affordable, in this £70 million reboot of the old Marlowe Road Estate.
Prices start at £88,750 for 25 per cent of a one-bedroom flat with a full value of £355,000. Buyers will need to have a household income of at least £40,000 to cover monthly costs of £610 rent, about £445 mortgage repayments and service charge from £86.
Two-bedroom flats start at £116,250 for 25 per cent and will need a household income of at least £56,000. Monthly costs include rent at £799, mortgage of about £583 and £125 service charge. Visit Red Loft Sales www.redloftsales.co.uk for information.
Feature 17 is in an area sometimes called Upper Walthamstow, a few minutes’ walk from Wood Street Overground station in Zone 4, with direct links to Liverpool Street.
Walthamstow Cricket, Tennis and Squash Club is close and the area is dotted with small parks. For wide open space, the southern tip of Epping Forest is a mile away.
The development is less than a mile from the bars and cafés of central Walthamstow. However, residents of Feature 17 can save on shoe leather if they want a coffee or a drink, as Wood Street itself is a burgeoning hub of hipsterdom, with pubs such as The Duke for cocktails and burgers, and the more traditional Flower Pot.
Mini Hiba has a fantastic Lebanese menu — a giant step up from your usual takeaway — while the stalls at Georgian Village are a highlight of the recently upgraded Wood Street Market and always worth a rummage for retro treasure.