CROYDON is experiencing a massive boom in house prices, as it becomes a more and more desirable place to live.
New housing-market figures show asking prices for homes in the borough are rising at one of the fastest rates in the capital.
A report from property website Rightmove said average asking prices for Croydon were up by 17.4 per cent over the past year -second only to the 24.7 per cent recorded by Tower Hamlets in east London.
Rightmove said the average Croydon asking price was now £322,921, an increase of 0.3 per cent from December's £331,896.
January 2013's figure was £283,531.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said the figures were part of a national picture that had seen asking prices rise 6.3 per cent over the past 12 months and marked the "strongest start to a New Year for house prices" that the business had ever recorded.
"The sums have to stack up for most property owners before they will consider a sale; some will have to achieve a higher sales price to fund a move while others will have a figure in their heads that they're not prepared to go below," he said.
"With buyer demand on the up and price levels having hardened, the likelihood of finding a buyer at an acceptable price will be a potential boost to new seller numbers, especially for those trading up and needing a decent deposit to access more competitive mortgage rates.
"Help to Buy phase two will assist new supply further by helping to increase the availability of low-deposit mortgages for existing home-owners, finally enabling 'trapped sellers' to move."
Rightmove said the annual figures showed house prices, by comparison, had risen by 15.1 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively in neighbouring boroughs Merton and Bromley.
A handful of London boroughs, including Haringey, Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea, registered annual falls in asking prices.
The news comes as agents are also reporting an increase in demand for high-end living in Croydon.
Flats in the Saffron Tower, in Wellesley Road, are being sold on for up to £70,000 above their original price, at least three years before the development is due to be completed.
