If you’re a twenty-something hopeful Herne Hill homeowner, but you find yourself still living in your childhood bedroom, struggling to save the deposit you need to fly the nest for a home of your own (whilst still surrounded by your old Buzz Lightyear wallpaper and a collection of schooldays trophies), you’re not alone!
Not only that, though; you might even be a little on the young side. A BBC report out this week has revealed that more and more people not just in their twenties, but in their thirties, forties and beyond, are finding the act of moving out on their own a seemingly impossible feat – or, in many cases, they have made the leap previously but now find themselves back in the family home again due to the unaffordable nature of modern life.
Across South London, young people are finding that moving out is not the exciting leap to independence it once was – whether buying or renting. It really can feel like a financial high-wire act, and for many, the maths simply doesn’t add up.
The average home in Herne Hill is a little over £800,000 based on data available from property site Rightmove. That’s more than twenty times the average UK salary (£37,439 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)), and around twelve times the average London salary.
But of course, buyers don’t always buy alone – often, in fact, a first-time purchase is made as a couple. In my article last week I mentioned that a Savills report had revealed that average household incomes in Herne Hill are just shy of £150,000, making our area – surprisingly – one of the more affordable parts of the capital, despite our higher than average prices; just five times the average household salary.
Nevertheless, younger buyers – even if they are on that sort of higher salary level, and even if they do find themselves purchasing as a couple with that sort of combined household income – often run into another issue: saving for a 5% or ideally 10% deposit.
Renting in this area doesn’t offer would-be buyers much room to save. Even a one-bedroom flat around Railton Road, Milkwood Road or within easy walking distance of Brockwell Park can easily set them back £1,600-£1,800 a month. Add in bills, council tax, the cost of a weekly shop, not to mention things that older generations didn’t have to think about spending money on, but which younger generations (rightly or wrongly) think of as part and parcel of normal life (things like streaming services, mobile phone bills, and social activities), and suddenly it feels difficult to see how they could manage to save very much at all.
Research from the Skipton Group has revealed the scale of the problem: nine out of ten young adults living with their parents would see nearly half their income vanish just on the basics of rent, council tax, and utilities if they moved out – and that’s before thinking about Netflix, gym memberships, or the occasional pint at The Florence.
Aside from the difficulties younger buyers face saving for a deposit and purchasing that first home in Herne Hill, we are now witnessing a different phenomenon.
A growing number of young people who do manage to move out, whether into rented accommodation or after buying their first place, are finding themselves “boomeranging” back home.
This is by no means just a local Herne Hill quirk.
Across the UK, nearly seven million young adults under the age of 35 live with their parents, according to the ONS. That’s up to around 42% of this age group, across the country as a whole. But the problem does feel particularly acute here in South London, where property values and rents are high, on top of increasing living costs generally.
We are members of the trade body Propertymark, a spokesperson for whom summed things up in the BBC article: “The costs associated with the first few years of home ownership come at a greater cost compared to those who run an existing home.”
Government schemes such as Lifetime ISAs and shared ownership programmes have been designed to help, but they rarely stretch far enough in areas like SE24, where property prices remain stubbornly high thanks to Herne Hill’s enduring popularity.
It is an issue that our sister company, Peterman’s Housing Initiatives, is working hard to tackle. For more information on this, see this article by PHI’s Managing Director, Ben Moser, by clicking here.
It’s not hard to see why people want to live here. Herne Hill has that rare mix of village charm and big city convenience: a bustling Sunday market, Brockwell Park on your doorstep, fast trains into the City, and an enviable selection of pubs and restaurants – not to mention our famous velodrome and lido. We are blessed to live in this self-contained pocket of London with everything we need as well as plenty that we all want, right on our doorstep.
But it comes at a cost.
It is that same desirability that has pushed prices higher, with so little new development in the area adding to the number of properties available to would-be buyers out there. It is why we find properties we list go under offer so quickly. That’s not a licence to overprice properties, I do stress that. But it does feel inevitable that our prices here have climbed as they have, and until wages catch up further, it does of course leave many younger locals priced out.
Parents hoping their children will be just around the corner – or even nearby in Tulse Hill, Brixton or West Dulwich – may find the reality quite different. Plenty move further out along the Thameslink line to places like Croydon or Sutton, where their money stretches further.
And of course, as the BBC report this week along with Skipton Building Society’s research shows us, many young adults are staying put in the family home for far longer than previous generations ever had to.
We know it can feel tricky for young buyers today in Herne Hill and elsewhere, but actually almost every generation struggled with getting onto the ladder, one way or another. There has never truly been a ‘golden era’. The journey onto the property ladder may feel steep, but with strategy and persistence there are routes available:
By combining disciplined saving, smart mortgage strategies, registering with housing associations, and of course undertaking realistic property targeting, a determined buyer can make this work – even in a competitive market like Herne Hill and the surrounding neighbourhoods of South London.
Q: What is the average house price in Herne Hill in 2025?
The average property price in Herne Hill is just over £800,000 (Rightmove, 2025), making it more than twenty times the UK average salary.
Q: How much does it cost to rent in Herne Hill?
Expect to pay around £1,600 to 1,800 per month for a one-bedroom flat in SE24, plus bills, council tax, and other living costs.
Q: Why are so many young adults staying at home with their parents?
High property prices, rising rents, and increased living costs mean that nearly seven million under-35s in the UK now live with parents (ONS, 2024). In London, the affordability gap is even wider.
Q: Are there government schemes to help first-time buyers in Herne Hill?
Yes; options include Lifetime ISAs and shared ownership schemes. However, these often fall short in high-demand areas like SE24 where prices remain well above national averages.
Q: Where are young buyers looking, if not Herne Hill?
Many look a little further afield along the Thameslink line, to places like Croydon, Sutton, or beyond, where their money stretches further.
We are required by law to conduct anti-money laundering checks on all those selling or buying a property. Whilst we retain responsibility for ensuring checks and any ongoing monitoring are carried out correctly, the initial checks are carried out on our behalf by Lifetime Legal who will contact you once you have agreed to instruct us in your sale or had an offer accepted on a property you wish to buy. The cost of these checks is £60 (incl. VAT), which covers the cost of obtaining relevant data and any manual checks and monitoring which might be required. This fee will need to be paid by you in advance of us publishing your property (in the case of a vendor) or issuing a memorandum of sale (in the case of a buyer), directly to Lifetime Legal, and is non-refundable. We will receive some of the fee taken by Lifetime Legal to compensate for its role in the provision of these checks.