"Young professionals" to infest flats above Iceland

[Hollis]

But very few places in South London have comparable transport links at equivalent prices. Where else would you suggest - underpriced Clapham perhaps?

Well there's loads of places in North and East London. I'm no expert on South London.. but the transport links to places like Peckham are also pretty good.

 

[newbie]

What if you're doing a low-paid but very useful job?...we can't all be Key Workers in the present narrow definition of that term.

My point is that the pressure on local housing is as much from those incomers at the bottom end of the price range as those higher up. I'm not actually suggesting evicting anyone or creating some sort of quota system.

 

[tarannau]

Well there's loads of places in North and East London. I'm no expert on South London.. but the transport links to places like Peckham are also pretty good.

Like bollocks they are. Nightmare transport in Peckham - outside of the mainline train line there's a huge bunch of commuters who have to travel to Brixton every day on overcrowded buses to catch the tube.

Outside of Brixton and Oval you've got the nightmare of the Northern Line down South here, the slowest of the lot. Whatever else Brixton has going for it, it has wonderful transport links...

 

[Hollis]

Like bollocks they are. Nightmare transport in Peckham - outside of the mainline train line there's a huge bunch of commuters who have to travel to Brixton every day on overcrowded buses to catch the tube.

Outside of Brixton and Oval you've got the nightmare of the Northern Line down South here, the slowest of the lot. Whatever else Brixton has going for it, it has wonderful transport links...

I'll repeat.. there are loads of cheap and accessible places in London to live. I'm sure some of the many people who live outside Brixton but in South London will be able to tell you how they survive. One of my mates seemed to suvive the Northern Line "nightmare" to Tooting Bec for afew years.

 

[tarannau]

I'll repeat.. there are loads of cheap and accessible places in London to live. I'm sure some of the many people who live outside Brixton but in South London will be able to tell you how they survive.

How much more expensive do you think that Brixton is than other Zone 2 locations then? I think you'll find it's highly comparable - if not far more mixed in the price range than most areas. Let me repeat instead: show me the places that have comparable transport links and much cheaper prices than Brixton. Just name one or two.

I suspect that you're just trying to push this 'vibrancy' angle regardless of the actual evidence...

 

[newbie]

Like bollocks they are. Nightmare transport in Peckham - outside of the mainline train line there's a huge bunch of commuters who have to travel to Brixton every day on overcrowded buses to catch the tube.

Outside of Brixton and Oval you've got the nightmare of the Northern Line down South here, the slowest of the lot. Whatever else Brixton has going for it, it has wonderful transport links...

Indeed, though why a tram is deemed necessary is a bit beyond me. But Brixton had the same tube in the 70s & 80s when it was depopulating. The tube, though an important factor, doesn't explain the whole phenomena.

 

[Hollis]

How much more expensive do you think that Brixton is than other Zone 2 locations then? I think you'll find it's highly comparable - if not far more mixed in the price range than most areas. Let me repeat instead: show me the places that have comparable transport links and much cheaper prices than Brixton. Just name one or two.

I suspect that you're just trying to push this 'vibrancy' angle regardless of the actual evidence...

Where to start.. Leyton, Leytonstone, Tottenham, Hackney, Wood Green, Bethnal Green.. the "nightmare" Northern line (north & south)

 

[tarannau]

Indeed, though why a tram is deemed necessary is a bit beyond me. But Brixton had the same tube in the 70s & 80s when it was depopulating. The tube, though an important factor, doesn't explain the whole phenomena.

The 70 and 80s were a different time as regards transport though. I'm not denying that the social attractiveness of an area feeds into housing values, but Brixton remains fairly priced compared to other comparable locations, as ridiculous as that might sound. Wandsworth, for example, commands greater premiums despite the less convenient transport.

I still think that the vibrancy aspect is being played up. It's more that people want to move to areas they feel they can 'belong' to. In Wandsworth's case, it's recently been perceived as a famaily friendly, creative area -Brixton has traditionally been associated with left leaning and mixed culture, although this may have lessened. Each could provide a draw to the area in some way.

 

[poster342002]

Maybe you should get hitched.

Far easier said than done. And why should people have to before they can afford to live somewhere?

 

[Hollis]

It's more that people want to move to areas they feel they can 'belong' to.

Yes, and Brixton has an enormous number of 'just graduated moved to London' types - its got all the clubs, the bars etc, their mates live there. Its trendy.

 

[tarannau]

Where to start.. Leyton, Leytonstone, Tottenham, Hackney, Wood Green, Bethnal Green.. the "nightmare" Northern line (north & south)

Oh come on - with the possible exception of Bethnal Green, none of those are anywhere as well stocked with travel options as Brixton. Some of them are in Zone 3, others double the number of stops (and journey time) that it would take you to reach central London from Brixton.

And where's the South London comparison as well. It's hardly an genuine and fair look at the comparable options is it? You may as well look at Colliers Wood and Morden...

Bethnal Green is as expensive as Brixton, if not more so for luxury apartments, in my experience.

 

[Orang Utan]

What does he do? I must confess this has "scam" written all over it, but then again, it depends on who's doing the judging. My colleague opposite counts as a key worker with the housing association who he's just part-buying with, but not by any council.

He's not a scammer, he hasn't even applied yet. He's a subtitler - I think they judge it more by income than percieved 'usefulness' but that's a guess.

 

[Hollis]

So what if they're 'zone 3'. Travel options from Wood Green/Leyton are just as easy as Brixton.

 

[poster342002]

I dunno.. what's a 'useful' job anyway.. I'm always abit dubious of that term.

Another thing to remember is that people take the job they can get - useful or not - and the job they can get is often not highly-paid. Nobody chooses to be on a low-income - they just have the job because it's the one they were able to get.

 

[kea]

Nightmare transport in Peckham - outside of the mainline train line there's a huge bunch of commuters who have to travel to Brixton every day on overcrowded buses to catch the tube.

i don't know which bit of peckham you're referring to but i'm perfectly happy with the transport links from peckham and that's coming from a confirmed north londoner who was spoilt by living within 5 minutes of the northern line for the 3 years pre-peckham and my (many) fellow commuters seem just as happy.
tho re: affordability, i dunno how affordable it really is. £170k seems to be the baseline for a 1-bed place with garden here. cheaper than brixton tho i'm sure!

 

[Hollis]

Oh come on - with the possible exception of Bethnal Green, none of those are anywhere as well stocked with travel options as Brixton.

So you're really telling me all those 'just graduated' types move to Brixton because they've heard of the 'fantastic transport links'?

 

[LDR]

So what if they're 'zone 3'. Travel options from Wood Green/Leyton are just as easy as Brixton.

Exactly, it takes 15 minutes from Leyton to Liverpool Street.

 

[tarannau]

So what if they're 'zone 3'. Travel options from Wood Green/Leyton are just as easy as Brixton.

Ah come on, stop stretching. So you wouldn't have expected a place in Zone 2 (with lower travelcard/transport prices as a result) to command a premium in housing over a Zone 3/Zone 4 location?

Journey times are way longer for many common locations from Wood Green/Leyton - double the time to Oxford Circus, even Euston, than from Brixton for example. It's bullshit not to expect that to lead to a premium in costs.

I repeat: name one comparable location, particularly in South London, that shows Brixton to be particularly overpriced.

 

[tarannau]

Exactly, it takes 15 minutes from Leyton to Liverpool Street.

That's a bad one for Brixton admittedly, but just having a quick play around on tubeplanner.co.uk gives some examples of Brixton's speeds to many of the mainline stations and most popular locations. Despite Camden's North London location, for example, it'd be quicker to reach from Brixton than either Wood Green or Leyton.

 

[tarannau]

So you're really telling me all those 'just graduated' types move to Brixton because they've heard of the 'fantastic transport links'?

Has Brixton got a much higher proportion of 'just graduated' types than elsewhere in London then? Care to show me any stats for that claim?

 

[Hollis]

Ah come on, stop stretching. So you wouldn't have expected a place in Zone 2 (with lower travelcard/transport prices as a result) to command a premium in housing over a Zone 3/Zone 4 location?

Journey times are way longer for many common locations from Wood Green/Leyton - double the time to Oxford Circus, even Euston, than from Brixton for example. It's bullshit not to expect that to lead to a premium in costs.

I repeat: name one comparable location, particularly in South London, that shows Brixton to be particularly overpriced.

My claim was for cheaper, accessible places to live.. which I've just listed examples of...I've also said I'm not an expert on South London.

It also seems your very concerned about transport times! God knows how the rest of us survive!

 

[poster342002]

I repeat: name one comparable location, particularly in South London, that shows Brixton to be particularly overpriced.

Brixton isn't paticularly overpriced - the whole of London is. That's the point of the whole problem - nowhere is affordable anymore.

 

[Hollis]

Has Brixton got a much higher proportion of 'just graduated' types than elsewhere in London then? Care to show me any stats for that claim?

Probably a higher proportion of 'trendy' 'just graduated' types. Which is why they want to live there... because its vibrant. Not because of the 'fantastic transport links'.

( )

<supportive scientific evidence to follow.. >

 

[editor]

Well there's loads of places in North and East London. I'm no expert on South London.. but the transport links to places like Peckham are also pretty good.

Nah. The tube makes all the difference and Peckham hasn't exactly got the greatest of facilities and nicest of High Streets, has it?

 

[tarannau]

Brixton isn't paticularly overpriced - the whole of London is. That's the point of the whole problem - nowhere is affordable anymore.

Bingo that man. I suspect Brixton's actually slightly undervalued for its location - the 'edgy' location still scares a certain proportion of buyers off.

Whilst notions of vibrancy may attract some people here, there's hardly the evidence to suggest that it's driving up house prices and distrting the market in the way that some posters are suggesting here. Brixton's not cheap, but it was never likely to be in the longer term with such a location.

 

[newbie]

Lambeth has 41% with a degree; Leyton has 24%

 

[Hollis]

Nah. The tube makes all the difference and Peckham hasn't exactly got the greatest of facilities and nicest of High Streets, has it?

So next you're going to tell us you moved to Brixton because of the 'fantastic transport links'?

 

[Hollis]

Whilst notions of vibrancy may attract some people here, there's hardly the evidence to suggest that it's driving up house prices and distrting the market in the way that some posters are suggesting here. Brixton's not cheap, but it was never likely to be in the longer term with such a location.

Oh really! I again find that hard to believe!! I can tell.. you I'd love you lot to move up to Wood Green.. followed by the inevitable wave of gentrifiers afew years later.. Send my house price through the roof it would.

 

[editor]

So next you're going to tell us you moved to Brixton because of the 'fantastic transport links'?

It certainly played a part

I used to live in Hackney and after that vowed never to live anywhere without a tube station nearby.

 

[Belushi]

It certainly played a part

I used to live in Hackney and after that vowed never to live anywhere without a tube station nearby.

After the best part of a decade living in areas of South London without the tube I've made the same vow. You can't enjoy London half as much if your not on the tube IME.

Now I live a minutes walk from Balham Tube