Hello all,
I currently rent in central London and am looking to purchase either in St Albans (AL3) or Ealing (W5/W13). My partner and I are fortunate to have good jobs so we have the budget to consider this (it would be a first purchase for both of us). I'm pretty cautious and about purchasing given how inflated prices are and the potential for turbulence in the economy with Brexit, etc.
However, wherever we move to we intend to make our home for 10+ years so I'm trying to consider the medium/long term - if there is a correction soon, hopefully the cycle will turn again while we live there. On the kind of properties we're looking at we'll need a ~75 LTV mortgage so we have a little headroom. Prices in St Albans have rocketed since 2012-13, but Greater London grew at a faster rate in the 2000s so comparing sold prices in 1995-96 to now the relative prices are fairly similar (AL3 was ~10% cheaper than W5/W13 in 1995-96 and it's about the same now).
I'm trying to weigh up which area is likely to hold its prices the most in a situation where prices fall. Clearly this is crystal ball territory, but I'd welcome any thoughts (and justifications) on this! Also appreciate there are lots of other areas where prices are less saturated but a combination of work and family means we're restricting ourselves to these areas.
Thanks in advance,
John
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Area less likely to have "hard" correction: St Albans vs Ealing
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- Lemon Quarter
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Re: Area less likely to have "hard" correction: St Albans vs Ealing
Historically, the growth of a city, town, village would have been driven by employment prospects and spin-off demand for housing. Nowadays, there is apparently still demand for housing but how much of that demand can afford to buy in some places is questionable. So I think one has to consider other factors that drive growth which is where commercial property development comes into its own.
St Albans I do not know well but from what I gather much of the growth over the years has been fuelled by incomers (mostly from London) wanting to live nearer to the country without going the whole hog. Consequently, it has lost its isolated feel and become a commuter city and district. The shopping facilities are long established with little scope for improvement. With its heritage, it is also a tourist destination.
Ealing I do know well and here this leafy suburb is well-located, with several substantial developments in the pipeline for the town centre. Ealing ha excellent public transport communications too.
In my experience, towns that have got what it takes tend to hold up in times of property price correction. On balance, i'd think Ealing is the better bet: it has in my experience more going for it. On the other hand, an attraction of St Albans is that it's a place to get away from it all.
Incidentally, Ealing postcode W5 is a more salubrious address than W13.
St Albans I do not know well but from what I gather much of the growth over the years has been fuelled by incomers (mostly from London) wanting to live nearer to the country without going the whole hog. Consequently, it has lost its isolated feel and become a commuter city and district. The shopping facilities are long established with little scope for improvement. With its heritage, it is also a tourist destination.
Ealing I do know well and here this leafy suburb is well-located, with several substantial developments in the pipeline for the town centre. Ealing ha excellent public transport communications too.
In my experience, towns that have got what it takes tend to hold up in times of property price correction. On balance, i'd think Ealing is the better bet: it has in my experience more going for it. On the other hand, an attraction of St Albans is that it's a place to get away from it all.
Incidentally, Ealing postcode W5 is a more salubrious address than W13.
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