Last week, DFT revealed that Croydon had become one of the most sought after locations for property developers due to its strong transport links with the capital and a large amount of permitted development opportunities.
Now, industry experts are predicting that other London suburbs will grow as the capital’s population continues to rise.
Laura Mccauley of Imperial Blue Finance, told DFT: “You only have to look along the end of the Central, Northern and District lines to see the next suburban hotspots.
“The ability to escape the hustle of the city yet still get to work in 30-45 minutes is an attractive combination, and we expect to see the suburbs becoming even more popular over the next few years.”
When asked if other London suburbs will see similar growth to Croydon’s, John Waddicker, Director of Positive Commercial Finance, said: “Yes, absolutely.
“Such boundaries are being pushed throughout the country as developers look to take advantage of cheaper land prices just outside of popular areas.”
Scott Marshall, Director at Roma Finance, added: “As developers search for more affordable housing stock, then boroughs such as Southwark, Croydon and Lambeth are proving very popular.
“The fact these easily-commutable areas are inside the M25 mean they will always be a target for builders and property developers as they have excellent transport links around Greater London and [a] ready-made market of young professionals available to snap up property."
Ashley Ilsen, Head of Lending at Regentsmead, believed that any opportunities would quickly be “sniffed out” by developers.
“There are many areas like this that are in need of regeneration, especially given the level of investment the government is putting into the infrastructure with various new train lines on their way,” said Ashely.
“The huge project taking place in Tottenham is on a similar level where, in addition to the stadium, there are surrounding properties that are being developed to support the new investment which will inherently create further opportunities for developers if growth allows it.”
Martin Gilsenan, Sales Director at Fortwell Capital, added that many other London boroughs had already seen larger than average house price increases.
“Barking and Dagenham, for instance, has seen the highest increase - albeit from a low base - as it benefits from the shift in the centre of gravity in London from west to east,” said Martin.
"Infrastructure, especially transport, is a major catalyst for house price growth. Hillingdon to the west of London is a case in point, being a major beneficiary of Crossrail. Previously, it wasn’t on many homebuyers’ radar[s].
"Elsewhere, south east London - particularly from Lewisham to Bromley - has seen a big upswing in demand as purchasers looking for value have flocked there to take advantage of improving transport links."
Luis McBriar of Adapt Finance concluded by saying that the ever increasing population and London’s popularity meant developers needed to look at other areas around the capital.
“People will always want to live in London,” said Luis.
“I mean, who are we kidding? It is one of the best cities in the world - behind Manchester of course!
“Therefore, when we run out of space in Croydon, as has happened in other districts of London, developers will have to find other areas to focus on and inevitably, we will see a rise in areas booming in the way Croydon has.”
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