Which London boroughs have seen house prices rise in the last 20 years?

Hackney experienced the highest rate of growth in house prices of all London boroughs in the last twenty years, with the average house price increasing 489% to £536,000 in 2018, up from £91,000 in 1998, says ludlowthompson, London’s estate agent.

The overall London average house price has jumped 365% to £485,000, up from £104,000 in the past two decades (see chart below).

ludlowthompson says house price growth in Hackney has been driven by the borough’s gentrification over the last twenty years. This has been partly based on the thriving nightlife and arts scene of areas such as Dalston, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.

The colonisation of the area by the Young British Artists movement and designers such as Alexander McQueen in the early 1990s attracted into the area a wave of cutting edge bars, clubs and restaurants. In turn this attracted young professionals who also found the area handy for the City of London and Silicon Roundabout.

Stephen Ludlow, Chairman at ludlowthompson, comments: “Hackney has benefited from a classic gentrification process where communities of artists and other creatives bring in independent bars and restaurants and higher earning young professionals come in their wake.”

“Similar break outs of gentrification have happened all across London in the last 25 years in areas like The Oval and Brixton in addition to areas in Hackney such as Dalston and Stoke Newington.”

Recent bar openings in the Hackney area include:

• Ballie Ballerson, a bar featuring an adult ball pit popular among reality TV stars
• Oslo, a live music bar and club built in a railway station
• Blues Kitchen Shoreditch, an American Deep South themed bar and club

The nightlife scene and fashionable restaurants in Hackney are popular among celebrities including Premier League footballer Dele Alli and comedian Russell Brand.

“25 years ago, only a few initial investors were buying in areas like Dalston. Now the challenge is to find the next area of gentrification before young professionals start pushing prices up.”

ludlowthompson adds that the growing development of transport links such as the Overground has made it increasingly convenient for professionals to commute to both the City and the Silicon Roundabout from Hackney.

In December 2017, the London Overground Night Service was extended on weekends between New Cross Gate and Dalston Gate.