London house prices have increased the most over the last 10 years with a significant rise in equity for homeowners.

The borough of Waltham Forest in London is leading the UK with house prices increasing 87% or a £220,068 rise in equity over the last 10 years with average values of £472,144, according to Zoopla.

Waltham Forest was named London’s first ever ‘Borough of Culture’ in 2019, attracting young professionals with its affordable homes to Walthamstow with its popular restaurants, bars and shops.

Older homeowners living in this area can benefit from the house prices rise releasing cash from your home using a lifetime mortgage to spend on anything such as home & garden improvements.

London boroughs with biggest gains

The capital has benefited from strong house price growth after the financial crisis with property values rising in the last ten years to lead the top ten areas.

This table from Zoopla shows the top ten areas with the biggest gains in the last ten years since 2012.

Area	House prices	Value added
Waltham Forest	£472,144	£220,068
Barking & Dagenham	£319,597	£148,659
Newham	£391,889	£185,062
Dover	£294,846	£132,250
Greenwich	£401,401	£178,750
Lewisham	£433,444	£192,902
Thurrock	£306,454	£135,570
Canterbury	£351,977	£155,716
Basildon	£331,456	£145,845
Thanet	£288,057	£126,437

The top three boroughs in London experienced property values that rose 87% in the last ten years and after Waltham Forest is one of the cheapest places Barking & Dagenham undergoing regeneration.

House prices in Barking & Dagenham have increased £148,659 and average values are £319,597 followed by Newham transformed by the 2012 Olympics and properties sought after by young professionals.

Newham has seen prices rise 87% or £185,062 in a decade with current values at £391,889 and home to the Queen Elizabeth Park and Stratford Westfield with everything for shoppers.

If you are an older homeowner and take advantage of these gains, acceptable property for equity release in London depends on whether it is freehold or leasehold with different criteria for houses and flats.

See how much you can release from your London property using equity release and the interest rate using this link:
Free equity release calculator with instant figures for your London home.

Another popular area in south east London is Greenwich with views from the park to Canary Wharf and the city with house prices up 80% or £178,750 and property values of £401,401.

Next is Lewisham with house prices up 80% or £192,902 and the best value place to buy in Zone 2 linked by the Docklands Light Railway, trains to London Bridge and soon the Bakerloo line.

Strong growth in the regions

Coastal towns remain popular with home buyers and Dover is forth in the top ten with house prices rising 81% or £132,250 in the last decade and average values of £294,846.

House prices in seaside towns are higher by 50% over ten years with average gains of £95,599 with Sandbanks and Salcombe in the South West being the most expensive towns to live in.

If you have an interest only mortgage where the provider requires the loan to be repaid, higher property values mean you can use a lifetime mortgage and pay no interest giving you extra income.

In terms of regions London is top with the biggest house price growth of 71% over ten years even though values have risen at the slowest pace during the pandemic.

The East of England has seen a rise of 68% with average property values of £324,168 and the South East up 63% and values of £143,722.

Next is the East Midlands with house prices up 60% followed by the South East higher by 56% and the slowest region is the North East rising only 21% over the decade.

Over the decade rising house prices are now offering retired homeowners the opportunity to access cash from their home using equity release to improve their quality of life at a time of higher inflation.

What are your next steps?

Speak to our London City Mortgage advisers if you are releasing equity in the capital, we can manage the application through to completing the lifetime mortgage.

Find out more about the leading lifetime mortgage products for London properties using a with this link:
Free equity release quote with interest rates to access cash from your home.

Our expert advisers can find products releasing cash and improve your quality of life. Learn more by using the equity release calculator, property value tracker chart and mortgage costs calculator.