Evidence is emerging that the tidal wave of house prices is beginning to lap at the shores of Newham.
In recent years it is Hackney and Tower Hamlets that have seen the extraordinary growth with places like Shoreditch and Canary Wharf as the engine of price rises.
Newham as always featured on the list but was a step behind. But Crossrail, new-builds, the regeneration of places like Canning Town, inward investment around the Royal Docks and the lack of stock elsewhere is bring the Olympic borough to the party.
New figures show that the borough has the steepest house price growth in the country March 201-15 at 19.8% with Greenwich in second place at 18.8%.
The general calming of the market – which has been slowed more by the general election – is shown in the absence of Tower Hamlets and Hackney from the top 10, indicating that booming prices are levelling out.
Westminster is set to become the second place in London where the average home costs over a million pounds. The average price in Westminster was £999,687 last month.
In Kensington and Chelsea the average property cost £1.3million.
Nineteen of the top 20 places in England and Wales with the steepest year-on-year property growth were in the capital.
The fastest growth could be found in Newham, Greenwich, Lewisham, Hillingdon and Croydon.
But success for some spells disaster for others. Newham has traditionally been a place to go for social, affordable and cheap housing.
New figures from homeless charity Shelter showed that only 43 affordable properties across London were available to families looking to buy their first home, and these included house boats.
Chief executive Campbell Robb said: “Virtually all the homes on the market are off limits for a typical family in the capital, and this is nothing short of a scandal.
“Decades of failing to deliver the homes we need is leaving millions trapped in expensive and unstable private renting, or in their childhood bedrooms, with barely a hope of saving for a home of their own.
“For the next government, whoever that may be, it’s time for the talk to stop and the work to begin. Politicians need to act swiftly to deliver the plan that will build the 250,000 homes a year we need, or millions more people will be forced to kiss their dreams of a stable and affordable place to live goodbye.”
Top 10 steepest house price rises across the country
Local Authority // March 2014 // March 2015 // % change
Newham // £243,209 // £291,364 // 19.8
Greenwich // £297,878 // £353,926 // 18.8
Lewisham // £328,502 // £385,353 // 17.3
Hillingdon // £289,887 // £339,227 // 17.0
Croydon // £277,282 // £323,582 // 16.7
Harrow // £326,630 // £380,768 // 16.6
Enfield // £284,291 // £329,606 // 15.9
Bromley // £330,880 // £383,526 // 15.9
Waltham Forest // £315,650 // £365,810 // 15.9
Bexley // £249,471 // £288,378 // 15.6
