Buying a home in Zone 1:two key central London areas loved for their community feel and boutique shops

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Homes for sale in SE11: Kennington

Average price: £796 per sq ft

Homes in the triangle between Vauxhall, Kennington and Elephant & Castle range from Georgian townhouses in tucked-away garden squares to Victorian flats and new-build apartments. There are also plenty of ex-council flats, helping to keep average prices down.

Johnny Male, sales director at estate agents Daniel Cobb, says prices of homes in SE11 are almost half those of similar homes across the river in Westminster. He feels that snobbery plays a part in this north/south divide.

Even so, one of the fine Georgian townhouses in Kennington Road or in “exquisite” Cleaver Square, close to Kennington station, would cost about £1.3 million, on average.

Another photogenic option would be one of the two-bedroom cottages built by the Duchy of Cornwall around Cardigan Street and Courtenay Square at the turn of the last century. These “tiny but adorable” homes cost about £900,000.

£975,000: a two-bedroom Grade II-listed terrace house with pretty rear garden in leafy Courtenay St, SE11, overlooking Courtenay Square

For more affordable options, a two-bedroom period conversion flat would be about £600,000, with a one-bedroom ex-council flat from about £300,000.

“SE11 has an amazing community,” says Male, who lives locally. “I adore it there. We all support our local shops, which are mostly around Kennington Cross, and there are some very good cafés.”

The postcode is just clear of the frenzied housebuilding going on at neighbouring Elephant & Castle and Nine Elms, but that doesn’t mean there are no new homes.

The frontrunner is Oval Village, off Kennington Lane. As the name suggests, it’s close to the cricket ground.

The flats went on sale at the start of last year and residents will move in from the beginning of 2023. By 2027 there will be 1,309 flats on site.

Prices start at £648,999 for a one-bedroom flat and £883,000 for a two-bedroom flat. Residents get a gym and pool, roof terraces and gardens.

The nearest Tube station is Oval, just into Zone 2 on the Northern line. Elephant & Castle Tube, on the Northern and Bakerloo lines in Zone 1, is a 10-minute walk away.

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