Shared-ownership homes in London: where first-time buyers can find new-build homes across the capital

First-time buyers looking to get a foothold on the property ladder in London are facing average asking prices of more than £479,000, according to the latest data from Rightmove.

The biggest hurdle is the deposit. With buyers having to find at least five per cent of the agreed sales price up front, many first-time buyers are heading outside of the capital, opting for larger homes in smaller towns with a fast commute into the city centre.

But there is another way for those wanting to move on from the renting game. Developers often sell new-build flats and houses as shared-ownership homes.

This "part-buy, part-rent" option means buying a share of the property — anything from 25 per cent to 75 per cent — and paying a subsidised rent on the rest.

Buyers only need to raise a deposit for the share they will own, which can work out at around £6,000 for an average one-bedroom flat.

Across London, there are shared-ownership flats for sale in regeneration areas, Crossrail hotspots and buzzing east London districts.

We've uncovered 10 developments in the capital with homes for sale right now — including the lowdown on how the costs stack up.

Totteridge, in Barnet, is an ideal commuter village — leafy, with lovely, quality period homes, a popular local primary school and a real feeling of escape from city life.

At So Resi Totteridge, a scheme of contemporary apartments available through shared ownership, one-bedroom flats start at £100,000 for a 25 per cent share of a home with a full price of £400,000.

Buyers will need to budget for mortgage repayments of around £520 a month, rent of £687, plus service charge estimated at £129.

A modern home in one of London’s most fashionable Zone 1 postcodes and designed by a “starchitect” may sound well beyond any first-time buyer’s budget. But this month flats at Principal Place in Shoreditch, by Norman Foster’s practice Foster + Partners, go on sale to first-time buyers, who can bag a share of a one-bedroom home within walking distance of the City from £150,000.

For buyers who like to have everything on the doorstep, this development is pretty hard to beat. Liverpool Street and Shoreditch High Street stations are both within five minutes’ walk while Brick Lane is a leisurely 10 minutes away.

The open-plan apartments have a full market value of £595,000, but a 25 per cent share can be bought for £148,750. Buyers will need to pay rent from £1,023 and service charge of £163, on top of mortgage repayments, which will bring the total monthly cost to just under £1,900.

Over the next 10 years some 8,000 new homes will be built in Bow, an old-school East End “island” bounded by three of London’s best parks.

New shared-ownership homes at Bow East went on sale in February, priced from £91,250 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat valued at £365,000.

Buyers will need to budget for monthly costs of just under £1,230 including rent of £627.34, service charge of £134.64, plus mortgage repayments estimated at £468.

Investing in Bow East will mean buying into the regeneration of the area. As well as thousands of homes, there are plans for new schools and parks, to help upgrade Bow’s infrastructure.

The Silvertown peninsula in east London has the Thames on one side, the Royal Docks on the other and it ticks the regeneration box, with £6.5 billion due to be spent on transforming this industrial wasteland.

First-time buyers with pioneering spirit can buy into Silvertown this spring. New homes at The Refinery in Knights Road, close to West Silvertown DLR station, in Zone 3, and the Thames Barrier Park, and beside the area’s vast Tate & Lyle sugar factory, are on sale now with Southern Home Ownership.

Prices start at £120,750 for a 35 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat. Monthly costs add up to £1,333 including rent at £514, mortgage repayments at £679 and service charge of £140.

Fast train links, regeneration potential, plenty of open space and incredibly affordable prices — for first-time buyers on a really tight budget it might just be that the only way really is Essex.

London’s Essex fringes are seeing an influx of investment in housebuilding, and new shared-ownership homes have just become available from only £67,000.

Ilford will come into sharper focus once Crossrail is up and running, giving fast, frequent services to the City in less than 20 minutes and the West End in 22 minutes.

At The Paragon Ilford Hill, Nu Living, part of Swan Housing Association, has prices from £67,000 for 25 per cent of a one-bedroom flat with a full market value of £270,000. A five per cent deposit comes in at £3,350 and in addition to mortgage payments, buyers will need to find monthly rent of £464 and service charge from £101.19.

With two towers of 14 and 18 storeys The Paragon is high-rise by Ilford standards, with some great views from its upper apartments. Surrounded by a landscaped plaza, it’s within an easy walk of the town centre and station.

In the streets around Battersea Square, new homes are being built. First-time buyers can get in on the action with a shared-ownership flat at Diamond Wharf in Gwynne Road, priced from £130,500.

Flats are smart and high-spec with private balconies, integrated Neff kitchen appliances and underfloor bathroom heating.

The 14-storey building will have shops on the ground floor. Prices start from £130,500 for a 30 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat with a full market value of £435,500.

Buyers will need to budget for rent of £571 a month, service charge of £137 and mortgage repayments of about £679. The one-bedroom flats are reserved for buyers with a household income of £50,000 or less.

A new scheme in South Clapham offers first-time buyers the chance to move in for less than £100,000, with a deposit of less than £5,000.

SO Resi Clapham Park, between Clapham Junction and Streatham Hill, is in walking distance of Clapham Common, Stockwell Park, Balham and Tooting.

The compromise is that the nearest station, Clapham South, on the Northern line in Zone 2, is a 20-minute walk away.

But if you don't mind that, this scheme represents a very rare chance to buy into one of south London's most expensive suburbs for less than six figures.

Open-plan one-bedroom flats start at £99,500 for a 25 per cent share. Buyers will need to put down a deposit of £4,975 and monthly costs are just under £1,300, including rent of £684, mortgage repayments of about £498 and service charge of £96.

With a Tube station on the doorstep and regeneration on the high street, smart first-time buyers should not write off Hounslow.

Clarion Housing has a range of one- and two-bedroom flats on offer at Hounslow Place, a good-looking, curvaceous, vaguely Art Deco-style building within an easy walk of Hounslow High Street.

A 35 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat here, with a full price of £345,000, costs £120,750.

As well as mortgage repayments, buyers will have to pay rent of around £314 a month and service charge estimated at £200 a month.

Five minutes away, a £100 million project called High Street Quarter will bring hundreds more homes, a multiplex cinema, new restaurants, cafés and shops around a new public square.

Existing brilliant transport links and relative affordability — given its location on the cusp of Zones 2 and 3 — make Acton an obvious choice for first-time buyers in search of a good deal on a new-build flat. Billions of pounds of investment into the area will include thousands of new homes and the regeneration of council estates.

The area's biggest changes are happening at the South Acton Estate. Since 2012, housebuilders L&Q and Countryside have been working on turning the post-war concrete jungle into Acton Gardens. They will spend £600 million on building 3,300 new homes, almost half of which will be lower-cost, aimed at renters and priced-out London buyers.

A one-bedroom flat starts at £410,000. Countryside is offering to pay the stamp duty, legal fees and removal costs on selected homes, and Help to Buy London is available.

Meanwhile, Barratt London is about to start work on another 364 homes for Acton, about a third of which will be lower cost. The first homes will be completed by 2021.

Clarion Housing is selling dozens of apartments at Chelsea Waterfront on a “shared equity” basis, allowing buyers to purchase a share of a property with the local council owning the rest.

Unlike shared ownership, they won’t pay any rent on the share they don’t own and when they want to sell they will walk away with their portion of any profits.

Prices start at £160,000 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat, or £201,000 for a 25 per cent stake in a two-bedroom flat. Service charges range from about £250-£280 a month.

To qualify buyers must live or work within Hammersmith & Fulham, and their total household income must be no more than £90,000.