Hi Redditors,

I’m looking to buy a 1 bed flat with a fairly tight budget, and I keep noticing that this area around South Bermondsey/New Cross Gate is super cheap:

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I’m guessing it’s a combination of being a heavy concentration of council places plus the proximity to The Den (although from what I can work out the route from the stadium to local train stations wouldn’t go past most of these properties).

But I just wanted to check if anyone has any local knowledge of the area that I’m missing?

by revlcams

21 comments

  1. Are you going to define super cheap or will I have to assume there are flats going for £100K in New Cross?

  2. Sooner than later the den will be gone. That shouldn’t be the reason. I’ve got some friends living there and I would say is cheaper than other areas because there is not much to do around there. New cross has Goldsmiths close but south Bermondsey is an industrial area still.

  3. Yeah it just isnt very nice down that way but is being redone. Good time to buy in if you can

  5. South Bermondsey and a lot of Bermondsey generally is a high concentration of social housing and estates. Which generally don’t make for a desirable area for a lot of people. Historically it was quite a racist area and still had BNP marches etc. But I’d imagine the last 20 years have changed the people who live there a bit.
    I would say down towards Telegraph Hill is unlikely to be cheap. And New Cross is full of students.

  6. I live slightly outside of the marked area. As others said, compared to more expensive surrounding areas, it has historically been very working class and industrial. Slightly closer to the river, Oliver Twist’s slum was located here, and even after the slums were cleared 100 years ago, it’s retained plenty of ugliness, a higher level of poverty than you might expect for zone 2, and you need to stay on your toes – there are loads of empty shops around and you shouldn’t have your phone visible on the street if you want to keep it.

    That said, it’s being tidied up and should improve. The Bermondsey Project just kicked off to renovate the derelict biscuit factory into a residential area, and New Bermondsey will transform the area around South Bermondsey station. Some of the old council blocks around Southwark Park were renovated (to add more housing) and are looking very swish, and it seems like they’re finally doing something with the tall block there that has been empty for years. A disused soccer pitch and grass area near me was transformed into an allotment/dog park and community orchard earlier in the year.

    South Bermondsey will never be Bermondsey Street, but give it a decade and it will be a lot more lively.

  7. ha, i’ve recently bought in that area you have outlined. not all of it counts as South Bermondsey though

  10. Used to live there. It’s what you said plus it’s just a bit bleak and no decent transport. Should change over next 10 years with den development plans and new overground station

  11. I lived in new cross and the south side of the A2 towards telegraph hill is not cheap at all.

    North of it you have Millwall, an industrial estate, the tip, and lots of social housing with impending S20 notices for expensive redevelopment of the estates. The cheap estate flats might well be compulsory purchased in the next 5-10 years if the planners have their way.

  12. It’s also the home of the South East London Combined Heat & Power station with lots of air/noise pollution and lots of heavy goods vehicles servicing it

  13. I really think this area of London will change more than any other in the next decade. The New Bermondsey plans and the Canada Water Masterplan are two huge projects in close proximity to each other that have the potential to transform the area.

  14. I live in this area! Highly recommend it. A lot of it isn’t that cheap though: Hatcham conservation area and telegraph hill are expensive. However the bits very close to main roads are very busy and polluted and there are also lots of ex-council properties that are cheaper relative to the Victorian terraces.

  15. It’s got a very industrial vibe that doesn’t exactly make you feel safe.

  16. Whilst it’s not currently the most desirable place to live- the area has begun huge regeneration. It’s currently one of the top investment spots in london and will be getting its own overground station. A very wise investment

  17. I used to around that area. From memory when I was looking to buy, flats in that area often tend to be on the smaller side with suboptimal layout, a bit awkward from a transportation perspective (NXG was quite a walk), heavy concentration of social housing, can be a bit dodgy (I remember quite a few stabbing incidents). There is a lot of renovation happening around Ilderton road especially and they knocked down the Aldi to make space for more housing so the area will change.

    Personally I have never seen any issues on match days, wouldn’t worry about the Den too much.

  18. It’s far from a beautiful area, but you can find some havens walking up to Telegraph Hill/ Nunhead areas. Also Greenwich Town Centre, which is 18 minutes away walking from New Cross

  19. I’ve lived in the centre of this area for 2 years, just signed on for another year. I think the area is great, walking distance to Peckham, surrey queys, New Cross, 10 minute walk to New Cross gate. You can tell the area is very working class but it’s a nice community, you will get the odd weirdo but it’s London. Old Kent Road isn’t the most attractive, I would say this is the biggest downside of the area. The area is gentrifying slowly, already a large amount of new buildings are being build. In 5-10 years, it will be a completely new place. Finally, The Den is not an issue at all. I’ve never had an issue with any of the fans, maybe just avoid the local pubs on gameday. They’re also on about making the bakerloo line go through this area in the future. Watch house prices go mad when that happens.

  21. You have the wrong idea about council estates. I am a council tenant and I can assure you that the people here are really nice.

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