London's Housing And People By The Numbers

Growth in each of London’s 33 boroughs has been brisk at 15% this year, despite the uncertainties that London faced over the past 12 months, according to CBRE’s Borough By Borough 2016 report that measures everything from sales and rental growth to the average age and salaries of the people living in every borough of the capital.  

Research reveals that outer boroughs have experienced a greater increase in average house prices than the inner parts of London. Whilst established central locations such as Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster continue to generate the highest house prices, the report shows emerging areas of outer London such as Waltham Forest and Barking and Dagenham have shown impressive house price growth over the last year, at 25% and 22.3%, respectively.

London’s notorious undersupply of housing stock is slowly being corrected. The research highlights that the city’s planning pipeline is at record levels with Tower Hamlets shown to have the most units in the development pipeline, at 24,993. Tower Hamlets also has the highest anticipated population growth in the next decade—and has the youngest average age at 31.2.

Barnet’s average age is the highest at 44.2 years. That leafy borough was singled out—along with Bexley and Barking and Dagenham—as a good option for first-time homebuyers; the average home prices are lower than other areas and both Barney and Bexley have a rural countryside feel that could be nice for young families looking for hikes and parks.

For those who prefer to rent, Hounslow had the highest average rent growth at 12%. The three boroughs with the lowest average rents were Hackney, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

London has 240,416 units in the planning pipeline. The fewest units are going up in the City of London with a paltry 814. The good news is there are 62,500 units under construction across London, 158% more than the previous market peak in 2007.