Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital, has highlighted five emerging residential hotspots in London to watch in 2020.
He highlights that significant regeneration programmes underway or in the pipeline, good travel connections to key towns and good property price growth have led to the following areas transforming into thriving residential areas:
Bracknell
- Bracknell offers a thriving business community (home to the likes of HP, Dell and Hitachi)
- Direct connection to London and other key destinations
- A lower price tag than other areas, with an average property price of £370,000
- Recently named in The Times as one of Britain’s most thriving communities
- Property price growth since 2014 is 20.77%
Slough
- Average house prices currently around £345,000 (£200,000 less than neighbouring Windsor and circa half the price of London)
- Home to the largest concentration of global headquarters outside of London, including O2 and Mars
- Around 46% of homes rented in Slough are to London leavers
- An eagerly awaited Crossrail station will be built, connecting Slough to the Elizabeth line
- Property price growth since 2014 is 18.14%
Stevenage
- Average sold prices at around £293,000
- A 25 minute train commute to London’s Kings Cross Station (where Google is set to move into its new £1 billion headquarters in coming years)
- Undergoing a £1 billion regeneration project, including a £350 million town centre regeneration project, set to begin in 2020
- Property price growth since 2014 is 20.77%
Northampton
- Sat almost equidistant between Birmingham and London
- Fast house price growth, with prices increasing by 5.3% over the past 12 months
- If its designs on receiving the ‘Future High Streets’ fund and Towns Fund go as planned, it could be in for a £50 million regeneration boost from the government, which is certain to attract more businesses, visitors and residents alike
- Property price growth since 2014 is 23.8%
Milton Keynes
- Only 33 minutes by train from London
- Hometrack lists it as one of the top ten locations for house price growth
- A key member of the Fast Growth Cities group that has resulted in nearly 20% of its workforce joining the knowledge sector
- Expected to double its population by 2050
- Property price growth since 2014 is 21.12%
Andy Foote concludes: “Whilst these areas may not have been traditionally thought of as premium property investment locations, they are fast becoming recognised as up-and-coming hotspots with strong growth potential, which, in an increasingly diverse property market, could hold the key to future success.”