Located between Stratford and Canary Wharf, West Ham is benefiting from the legacy of the 2012 Olympics, with regeneration well underway and thousands of homes being built.
Local borough Newham is forecast to outperform the rest of the capital in economic and employment growth, however, West Ham’s house prices are well below the London average.
Factor in the transport links – the station’s on five Tube and train lines and one stop from Stratford for the Elizabeth Line – plus improved schools and green spaces, and it’s no wonder that buyers are taking notice.
Many streets were destroyed in the Blitz and those that survived typically contain Victorian and Edwardian terraces, though not the villas found in other part of the East End. There are also swathes of 1960s council housing, plus notable developments.
‘No one used to know about West Ham but now buyers are coming in from Hackney, Shoreditch and Canary Wharf as they can get a beautiful house here for the same price as a two-bedroom flat in those areas,’ says Rav Sahota of Foxtons. ‘One-bedroom flats start at around £250,000 and you can pick up a three-bedroom Victorian terrace for £550,000.’
What’s new in the area?
Everything about Berkeley’s TwelveTrees Park is supersized, including the 119metre, free-standing crane – the tallest of its kind currently in use in the UK – that’s hard at work on the first phase of this 3,847-home scheme.
Named after 19th-century industrialist Harper Twelvetrees, the owner of the Imperial Soap factory that once occupied the site, the £1billion development, including a penthouse suite, is due to be finished in 2034. Forty per cent of housing will be affordable, and 12 acres of open space, a wifi-enabled park, shops, cafés and a new school are also to be delivered. The first of three new footbridges connecting the site to West Ham station and the existing community was installed in July.
Evergreen Point, the inaugural building, is a 32-storey tower made up of one, two and three-bedroom apartments with a gym, screening room, business lounge and 24-hour concierge, from £527,500, TwelveTreesPark.london. Phase one will include 229 shared ownership homes and 99 for affordable rent from housing association Peabody.
At Upton Gardens, the historic Boleyn Ground where West Ham used to play, has been transformed into more than 800 homes set in landscaped grounds. It’s set to complete next spring, and on-site amenities including residents’ gym, concierge and car club, with a proposed café and library.
All the one, two and three-bedroom apartments have their own garden, balcony or terrace and a spacious open-plan kitchen and living area with integrated appliances. They start at £369,000 and Help to Buy is available, though you’ll need to be swift to beat the October 31 applications deadline, barrattlondon.com
Everything potential buyers need to know about West Ham
Average house price: £420,034
Average rent: £2,545pcm
Council tax (Band D): £1,532.26
Commuting time to Zone 1 (Zone 2/3): 13 mins to London Bridge
Annual Travelcard: £1,536
Amenities: Food stores on Barking Road; Westfield Stratford City – one stop along the Jubilee line – has 250 shops, 65 restaurants, bowling, a cinema and a casino; Olympic sports facilities and ArcelorMittal Orbit in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; the London Stadium, is now home to West Ham United
Open space: West Ham Park; Stratford Park; The Greenway walking and cycle trail;
Schools: Majority of state schools rated good by Ofsted
Who lives there? Young professional first-time buyers; nearly 75 per cent of the population is under 45
Famous faces: Lennox Lewis, former boxing champion, was born here
Schools, crime and house data supplied by zoopla.co.uk
What’s on the property ladder?
£300,000
On the ground floor of a purpose-built block, this modern flat includes one double bedroom, a good-sized kitchen and a private garden accessed through the living room.
£425,000
A mid-terrace Victorian house with two bedrooms, a bay-windowed double reception room, a kitchen/breakfast room, a ground floor bathroom and paved garden.
£775,000
This tastefully refurbished Victorian terraced house has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a 39ft-long kitchen/living room, an outbuilding and basement.
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