Homes to buy on the London Overground route: four areas to watch for a Tube-free commute

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Ruth Bloomfield11 March 2020

Less than three weeks from now the clocks will go forward to herald the start of British Summer Time and we can look forward to eating outside and planting up the patio.

On the downside, we’ll have to clean the windows, swat the wasps and fight the tourists for standing room on the Tube.

Buyers looking for a new home at Easter can swerve at least one of these problems by conducting a search in areas that don’t have a London Underground station but are well-served by rail services and the London Overground network.

The Overground has a bit of a Cinderella status compared with the Underground and Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, says buyers should exercise caution.

You won’t necessarily get a discount for a home in a Tube-less area, and will definitely miss out when it comes to all-night Tube services.

Opening up London: the Overground network is opening up areas not served by the Tube and developers are catching on. New River Walk near Hornsey train station has shared-ownership homes available

However, a journey above ground is a pleasanter experience than taking the Tube. And with more express services travel times can be surprisingly short. More importantly, the Overground network opens up large swathes of the capital, giving you more choices.

“The key thing that people are going to want to look at is travel time into work and convenience of that travel,” says Cook. So if you’re aiming to buy in Tube-less territory, study transport timetables to make sure the service sui​ts.

Buying in north London: Hornsey

Unlike its villagey neighbours the Victorian suburb of Hornsey keeps a low profile but it is an area to watch, and not just because of its great transport links.

With train times of 16 minutes to King’s Cross and 20 minutes to Moorgate it is a great option for those who work in central London or the city.

It is close to Alexandra Park, for amazing views of London, and its high street is cosy but more than adequate, with good cafés, bars and restaurants — including, if you wish to celebrate the recent news of a Friends reunion, a Central Perk-themed café.

From £93,750: shared-ownership flats at New River Walk, near Hornsey Station

And Crouch End, with its independent cinema and café culture, is within walking distance.

Housebuilders are certainly picking up on Hornsey’s great potential.

At Altitude, a three-minute walk from Hornsey railway station, a collection of 119 flats will be ready to move into this month. Prices start from £397,000 for one-bedroom flats, and £496,000 for two-bedroom flats. London Help to Buy is available, so the minimum deposit for these homes is five per cent (foxtons.co.uk).

For buyers on restricted budgets there are also shared-ownership homes for sale at New River Walk, also right by the station, and priced from £93,750 for a 25 per cent share of a one bedroom flat (barnardmarcus.co.uk; networkhomessales.co.uk).

Meanwhile, and on a grander scale, comes Clarendon, the transformation of the defunct Clarendon Road Gas Works site north of Hornsey. St William is creating 1,700 new homes, plus offices, restaurants, shops and a gym. Apartments are priced from £460,000 (berkeleygroup.co.uk).

Buying in south London: Peckham

Fashionable Peckham is not only fêted for its cool bars and restaurants, but for its transport links.

Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham stations are on the Overground and there are good bus and rail links, too.

London Bridge is a mere 10-minute hop, while a journey to Victoria or Blackfriars will take around 15 minutes. From Queens Road Peckham the trip to London Bridge for the City is cut to eight minutes.

This is an area with a wealth of new homes to consider this summer.

From £105,000: 25 per cent of a one-bedroom shared-ownership flat at Peckham Place

If green space is a priority then Leyland Court is a great option just south of the wilds of Burgess Park, and you can walk down the Surrey Canal linear walk all the way to the centre of Peckham.

Prices start at £394,000 for a one bedroom flat (hamptons.co.uk), and London Help to Buy is on offer to cut entry costs.

At Peckham Place buyers can choose between buying a whole flat, if finances allow, or just a share of one.

The low-rise development of just over 300 homes, set around a courtyard garden, is handy for Queens Road Peckham, but still in walking distance of Peckham Plex, Frank’s Cafe, and all the local favourites.

Barnard Marcus (barnardmarcus.co.uk) is selling one-bedroom flats from £440,000, and two-bedroom flats from £550,000.

Housing association Notting Hill Genesis is offering first-time buyers the chance to live at Peckham Place for just £105,000.

That will buy a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat, and when rent, mortgage, and service charge are tallied up the monthly cost comes in at just over £1,300.

A 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat starts at £150,000, and the monthly costs will be just under £1,870 (nhgsales.com). The homes will be ready to move into in April.

Buying in east London: Hackney

The East London line, part of the Overground, has opened up new possibilities — and super-fast commutes — across a swathe of east London.

City workers can’t do much better than Hackney Downs, a 10-minute hop to Liverpool Street. Flats at The Otto, overlooking the Downs, are certainly appealing to buyers, as just six of the total 89 remain.

From £490,000: apartments at The Otto overlooking Hackney Downs are just a 10-minute hop from Liverpool Street

Prices start at £490,000 for a one-bedroom flat or £665,000 for a two-bedroom flat (cushmanwakefieldresidential.com).

Nearby, at Fish Island Village, trains from Hackney Wick to King’s Cross or Liverpool Street take less than half an hour, and you also have the benefit of the area’s fun riverside restaurants and access to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

When complete there will be almost 600 homes at Fish Island Village, plus a co-working space, gym, and concierge service. Prices start from £647,500 for a two-bedroom flat, and a new phase of homes going on sale next month will include some London Help to Buy options (fishislandvillage.co.uk).

For lower prices you’ll need to look further from the centre of London and Leyton has gained traction as buyers are pushed further east in search of better value.

The train journey from Leyton Midland Road is still a very do-able 35 minutes to Fenchurch Street or 38 minutes to St Pancras International.

Ashby House is a scheme of nine flats set around family-friendly gardens, and there are three-bedroom flats for sale priced from £535,000, eligible for London Help to Buy (foxtons.co.uk)

Buying in west London: Brentford

Brentford is emerging as a real option for buyers priced out of neighbouring Chiswick and Richmond.

New homes are springing up along the area’s three waterways — the Thames, the River Brent and the Grand Union Canal.

Despite being some 10 miles from central London the journey to Waterloo takes from 23 minutes.

Fom £410,000: the Brentford Project will have 900 homes plus shops a leisure centre and an arts complex and cinema. 

Basically you are paying Zone 4 prices for a Zone 2-type commute. The Brentford Project, by Ballymore, is Brentford’s biggest scheme.

The 12-acre site will eventually have 900 homes, new shops, a leisure centre and an arts centre and cinema.

The first residents will move in during 2022 and building completes in 2027.

Prices start at £410,000 for a one-bedroom flat, and £622,500 for a two-bedroom flat.

The homes are being sold off-plan so Help to Buy is not currently available, but this could change as the homes start to be completed (knightfrank.co.uk).