London appears to be immune to the global slowdown with central London house prices strong driven by overseas buyers and High End spenders. One negative effect on this is those who work in London cannot afford to live in the city. Recent reports show a growing trend by London commuters which is to live in a camp site within easy commuting distance.
There are an increasing numbers of people living in tents or mobile homes through the week and then returning to their ‘real’ home at the weekend. Many commuters make the daily journey into the city from campsites in the commuter belts.
The Guardian reports that on the Lee Valley site in north London, forty pitches are reserved for what the site calls ‘long termers’ – people effectively living through the week on a campsite.
Campers at Lee Valley North London pay between £12.30 and £16.40 a night for a one-person pitch. This compares to rental or mortgage payments that can easily run to £35 a night.
IT contractor Keith Davidson lives in a caravan at the site and commutes to Canary Wharf each day. The City of London is under an hour away by public transport and a regular bus service takes campers to and from the site to the local station.
“My family lives up in Aberdeen, but I often get contracts down here. The main reason I stay here is because of the flexibility – if you rent a flat you often have to commit to six months or a year, whereas here you can come and go as you like,” he said.
Peter Rollings, Managing Director of Marsh & Parsons, said: “The rise in supply of homes for sale is a healthy development for the London property market. Last year, we saw galloping house prices in the capital, underpinned by a severe shortage of properties on the market. Buyer demand is still as strong, but there is now a greater balance between supply and demand for properties and this will encourage more activity in the housing market and see house prices rise at a more sustainable pace.”
