Where to buy in London in 2020: areas near Tube and train stations with new homes and easy commutes to work hubs

London has one of the most extensive public transport systems in the world.

In fact, only 29 per cent of residents commute to work by car compared with the national average of 67 per cent.

Typically home buyers pay a premium to live close to a Tube, rail or Overground station, but new data reveals areas that still offer value for money and a convenient journey to major employment hubs.

Here we find new homes in five of the best.

The streets between Finsbury Park and Stamford Hill present the best combination of transport connections and affordability, according to figures from Centre for Cities.

This small neighbourhood is served by Manor House Tube on the Piccadilly line which runs into King’s Cross and Covent Garden and is a short walk to Finsbury Park station which links to Farringdon and Blackfriars.

“Finsbury Park still feels gritty around the station and Stroud Green Road but new cafés, restaurants, boutiques and shops have opened over the last three years,” says Mark O’Kane of Marsh & Parsons.

He calls the new 335-apartment City North “a game changer” with a new nine-screen cinema, a gym and an M&S foodhall. Prices for City North flats start from £475,000 (020 3538 3394).

Manor House Tube is next to the Berkeley Homes waterside regeneration scheme Woodberry Down. Set on 64 acres of land, it will deliver 5,584 homes on completion in 2035.

The new community overlooks two large reservoirs and the scheme includes cafés, restaurants, a supermarket, community, youth and health centres and two schools.

There are apartments available in the Willowbrook phase from £588,000. Call Berkeley on 020 3944 7729.

Brixton can no longer be classified as affordable but the Centre for Cities study shows that flats along Brixton Hill sold for £256,600 on average in 2018.

Rightmove puts asking prices for modernised family terrace houses around the £800,000 mark but the area is well-connected as the starting point of the Victorian line which takes 11 minutes to Oxford Circus.

There’s a train station and a rich cultural scene to boot.

There are four apartments left in the SO Resi Brixton development. Prices for a two-bedroom home, via shared ownership, start from £127,500 for a 25 per cent share (full market value £510,000). Call 020 8607 0550.

Barking station has the Overground, National Rail services, buses galore and the District line which runs straight into the City.

The town is undergoing a £2 billion transformation that will bring 6,000 new homes, shops and an art house cinema. The north-east side of Barking station is the most affordable with an average sale price of £265,357.

Fresh Wharf on the River Roding, a 911-home joint scheme between Countryside and Notting Hill Genesis, was launched in October 2019.

It’s a 15-minute walk or a five-minute cycle ride to Barking station. Prices start from £308,000 for a one-bedroom apartment with Help to Buy available. Call 020 3733 1191.

Barking Riverside is the 10,800-home transformation of the former power station site running along the Thames.

As part of the scheme a 24-hour bus service runs from the Riverside to the town centre and a new cycleway linking to Cycle Superhighway 3 will be built this year.

The Overground is being extended to stop at Barking Riverside, taking commuters into central London in 22 minutes.

Solicitor James Fagan works close to Liverpool Street station so had a choice of quick commutes.

In the end he chose to buy a one-bedroom apartment at Deptford Foundry using Help to Buy.

The converted metalworks is a 10-minute walk from New Cross and Deptford High Street stations with direct connections to London Bridge in just seven minutes and to Greenwich in around 12 minutes.

“It’s a great location. My commute to work is only 35 minutes,” says James, 29.

Deptford is also on Cycle Superhighway 4, which will run from Tower Bridge to Greenwich. Flats from £395,000. Call 020 7526 9229.

Farringdon is already well-connected but its central location makes it expensive. Trains run to Bedford in the north and Gatwick in the south via Blackfriars and London Bridge.

It will also have its own Crossrail station and the high-speed service will take seven minutes to Canary Wharf once up and running.

“Farringdon is packed with good restaurants such as St John, Granger & Co, Smiths of Smithfield, the Bleeding Heart. Plus fashionable hangouts such such as The Zetter Hotel’s atrium and lounge,” says Marcus Bradbury-Ross of London Resolution.

“You can get a two-bedroom flat for an entry price of £750,000,” he adds.

Barts Square is a new luxury development in Smithfield Market. Prices in the scheme start at £895,000, via Savills (020 7409 8756).

Farringdon is also on Cycle Superhighway 6 which runs from King’s Cross to Elephant & Castle, and it’s also walkable to the City.