London as a whole has long had the highest house prices of any UK region, but the variations between different parts of the capital are well worth noting for buyers seeking something within their price range.
In particular, estate agents in Sutton may sell some expensive properties, but they will be unlikely to be involved with many comparable to those on the costliest streets to live on in the country, which are almost all in central and inner west London.
This was revealed by a study carried out by Halifax, which showed 19 or the 20 highest priced streets in England and Wales were in the capital, the exception being one street in Ascot.
Philipmore Gardens in Kensington was on top of the list at £23.8 million, while Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, once home to Oscar Wilde, was second at £23.5 million.
The list of the costliest ten streets is notable for the fact they all have SW or W postcodes, marking them out as prime central London. This equates to the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which the latest Land Registry figures revealed to have the highest average property price for any London borough at £1.36 million, and Westminster, which is second at £967,000.
However, at £446,000 Sutton was much more affordable, not just in comparison with London (where just five of the other 31 boroughs have lower average prices), but also the majority of places in the south east within the capital’s commuter belt.
Although prices were a little higher than in Croydon (£436,000), they compared favourably with the other two London boroughs with which Sutton shares a boundary, Kingston-upon-Thames (£576,000) and Merton (£587,000). Prices are also less than in the two Surrey districts it shares a border with, Espom & Ewell (£583,000) and Reigate & Banstead (£494,000).
While Sutton’s prices may be well above the national average of £316,000, it also has a level of affordability that compares well both with London and the wider south-east.