Rents in Hackney Downs show the lowest increase across the borough over the last year, Hackney Post has discovered. This is in contrast to rocketing letting values in the nearby areas of Dalston and Stoke Newington.
Shanade, an estate agent with Currell of Hackney, said: “The rule of thumb is that the closer to Islington the let, the higher the price, and Hackney Downs is just out of the catchment area for our higher income clients.
“However, prices are determined by the individual characteristics of a property, and we have an attractive two-bed school conversion in Hackney Downs which should get £485 per week.”
One-bed flats in Hackney Downs have remained below the £300 per week mark, while a short distance south and west across Downs Park Road and Stoke Newington High Street, prices are well over £400. Two-bed flats in E5 have fallen in line with similar rentals in E8 and N16 at just below £400. However, this is still far below the £600 average for the sought-after N1 and N7 Islington areas.
The picture for social housing rent prices is unclear. There is a high concentration of estates in Hackney Downs and many residents are thought to be living in housing association buildings, as opposed to private lets.
Hailey, an estate agent at Winkworths on Lower Clapton Road, said: “Many of our clients are non-Hackney residents and they tend to have higher incomes than many of the locals. However, Hackney Downs is not as up-and-coming as Shoreditch, Hoxton or Stoke Newington, and this may be due to the dominance of social housing just north and south of the actual Downs.”
A local resident, Mick O’Hare of Kenninghall Road, said that he is looking to move out of his home with a housing association but he cannot afford the privately let flats closer to his daughter’s school in Islington due to his low family income.
