Spotlight on Croydon
The largest London borough by population,
Croydon is also one of the fastest growing. With low prices and fast transport links attracting technology companies, first-time buyers and huge levels of regeneration, this borough is reinventing itself into a commuter hotspot. If you’re looking for property in a dynamic borough that’s on the up, now could be a great time to invest in Croydon.
Westfield shopping centre attracting investment
One of the Mayor’s highlighted major growth opportunity areas; Croydon is embarking on an ambitious £5.25bn regeneration programme that will offer huge economic benefits to residents and businesses, including 23,500 new jobs and 8,000 new homes.[1] At the heart of these plans is a £1.4bn transformation of Croydon’s high street, which is set to create over 5,000 local jobs and up to 1,000 new homes.
Australian retail firm Westfield, in partnership with the British developer Hammerson, are redeveloping the Whitgift and Centrale shopping centres to create over 1.5m square feet of retail and leisure space. In addition to key anchor stores, there will be over 300 shops, restaurants, cafes, a cinema and a bowling alley.[2] With Westfield’s track record for kick-starting an explosion of growth in Shepard’s Bush, the council is hoping this development will be the catalyst for a similar transformation in Croydon.
First-time buyers flocking to Croydon
With starter homes costing around £185,000 less than the Capital's average, first-time buyers have been moving to Croydon in great numbers. In the year to May 2016, the price of starter homes in this borough rose by almost 20% – the highest recorded price growth in the UK. According to Rightmove, this places Croydon at the top of the list of London’s first-time buyer hotspots.[3]
South London’s Silicon Valley
Croydon Tech City is London’s fastest-growing tech cluster. Over the last four years, it has blossomed into a dynamic collective of over 2,000 digital, technical and creative start-ups.[4] And its thriving tech industry has made Croydon the fastest growing economy in the UK, enjoying an annual growth rate of 9.3% in gross value added (GVA).[5]
The cluster’s growth is being spurred on by Croydon’s vast regeneration programme, its lower housing costs and the fact its Class A office space is the cheapest in Greater London. Rents are about a third cheaper per square foot here than in central London.[6]
To encourage the take-up of computer programming and coding, its Future Tech City scheme aims to support every local school to deliver tech opportunities to local children.[7]
A new cultural quarter springing up around Fairfield Halls
A key part of the borough’s regeneration is centred around Fairfield Halls. The concert hall, theatre, and arts space built in 1962 is getting a £30m makeover to transform it into a state-of-the-art performance venue. Springing up around the refurbished halls will be a vibrant new cultural quarter. Wider plans include a new, high-quality public space, a new college, a huge new art gallery, niche retail and office space as well as 218 new homes.[8]
Boxpark – bringing Croydon some Shoreditch cool
Opening in October 2016 on a brownfield site next door to East Croydon station, Boxpark Croydon shows just how trendy this borough has become. Housed in 80 refurbished shipping containers and modelled on Boxpark Shoreditch, Boxpark Croydon is home to restaurants, bars and gigs. It’s a gigantic pop-up that will eventually be demolished to make way for a huge housing scheme. Until then, South Londoners can enjoy food from around the world including Mexico, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey, Spain and the Caribbean.[9]
Super-quick transport links
One of the many features attracting people to Croydon is its enviable transport connections. It’s the only London borough with a tram system running through it. The Tramlink goes directly to East Croydon station from where fast trains to Victoria and London Bridge take only 17 minutes. The station also has links to Thameslink, Southern and the Gatwick Express, with journeys to Blackfriars taking about 30 minutes, to Gatwick 15 minutes and Brighton 50 minutes.[10]
From South Croydon and West Croydon stations, trains to Victoria and
London Bridge take between 25 and 35 minutes. From West Croydon, there is also the Overground with trains to Shoreditch High Street, where commuters can change for the City and Canada Water for a one-stop connection to
Canary Wharf.[11] And the Tramlink connects all the dots with trams running from the Purley Way industrial estate in the west of the borough to New Addington in the east.
Current asking prices and rental yields
The current average value of properties in the London borough of Croydon is £425,887. It has increased 3.17% in the last 12 months and 47.12% in the last five years. For a
two-bedroom flat, the average asking price is £376,534, and the average asking rent is £1,289pcm, which means the gross rental yield is currently 4.10%.[12]
This content is correct as of April 2017
