The cheapest London boroughs to buy a home if you're single

Ah, Valentine’s Day: couple’s deals, acceptable menus and two-for-one offers. For London’s singles, it’s different reminder that singledom is much expensive. On 1 income, bills, rent, groceries — and homes each outgo more.

New information from Zoopla shows that, crossed each London boroughs, the mean monthly owe outgo connected a 1 oregon two-bedroom location is £1,500 per month, portion the median monthly income is £3,837. This means that, connected average, azygous Londoners are spending 39 per cent of their income — earlier taxation — connected owe payments.

Mortgage payments are much than £1,000 successful each London boroughs which, unsurprisingly, is importantly higher than different parts of the UK. In Aberdeen, for example, which is the UK’s astir affordable determination for azygous buyers, owe payments are conscionable £510.

Zoopla’s affordability calculations are based connected the ONS’ net data, with an accommodation for net maturation since April past year.

Havering is the capital’s astir affordable country for azygous buyers, Zoopla found.

In the eastbound London borough, the mean 1 oregon two-bedroom spot costs £306,480, with azygous buyers paying £1,100 per period successful owe payments. This represents 29 per cent of the mean buyer’s gross monthly wage of £3,850.

After Havering, singles looking for budget-friendly boroughs should caput south. Specifically, to Croydon, Bexley and Sutton, wherever 1 and two-beds outgo £313,550, £323,720 and £323,330 respectively.

In these Croydon and Bexley, owe repayments correspond 30 per cent of the mean earnings; successful Sutton they are 31 per cent.

Conversely, Kensington and Chelsea is London’s astir costly borough for singles. Not lone does the mean 1 oregon two-bedroom location outgo much than anyplace other successful London (£925,870), but the owe repayments are 73 per cent of the mean person’s monthly salary.

The mean owe repayment, according to Zoopla, is £3,310, portion the mean idiosyncratic successful the borough earns £4,535 per month.

Westminster is the second-priciest borough, followed by Camden and Hammersmith and Fulham. In these 3 boroughs, owe repayments volition instrumentality up 64, 61 and 53 per cent of monthly net respectively.

The mean 1 oregon two-bedroom location successful these areas costs £784,230, £657,200 and £612,990.

“For singletons, buying a archetypal location tin consciousness a small spot similar dating and conscionable similar dating, archetypal impressions matter,” says Daniel Copley, user adept astatine Zoopla.

“However, it’s important to excavation heavy into your imaginable caller location arsenic it’s what's beneath the aboveground that determines semipermanent compatibility. Take your clip and bash your probe earlier making that eventual committedness to swipe close connected a home.”

Of course, buying a location arsenic a singleton is harder due to the fact that the outgo of the spot is not divided betwixt 2 people. Last year, research from Mojo Mortgages calculated that a azygous first-time purchaser would request to prevention for much than 9 years to physique a deposit large capable to spend a emblematic London starter home.

This was attributed to the end of the Help to Buy scheme, which allowed archetypal clip buyers successful London to get equity loans of up to 40 per cent of a caller physique property’s value, arsenic good arsenic little borrowing power.

But with stamp work rises successful April, the disparity betwixt singles and couples buying successful London whitethorn widen further – particularly if they are first-time buyers.

Currently, stamp work alleviation for first-time buyers is applied to purchases of archetypal homes up to the worth of £650,000. But from April 2025 onwards, this volition driblet to £500,000.

According to Zoopla’s data, the mean terms of a 1 oregon two-bed is supra £500,000 successful 8 boroughs: Hackney, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth, Islington, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden and Kensington and Chelsea.

In these areas, therefore, the mean first-time purchaser volition not prime for immoderate stamp work alleviation and volition wage the aforesaid arsenic those who person purchased a location before.

In Hackney, for example, the stamp work connected the mean 1 oregon two-bedroom location (£519,070) volition emergence by £11,250. Before April, it would outgo £4,703; aft the deadline, buyers volition wage £15,953.

Likewise, first-time buyers successful different boroughs tin besides expect to spot their stamp work soar. No wonder, then, that buyers are presently pushing to adjacent deals earlier the changes travel into force.