Areas in London considered prime are on the rise. Here’s where to look in north London for property with average prices under £500,000

Prime London creep. No, not slang for the weasly man squeezed up against you in the rush hour yesterday, but the process happening throughout the capital whereby formerly fringe areas are crossing new average property price thresholds thanks to the “next door effect”.

This is nothing new but recent research from estate agent Savills shows that general house price growth in recent years has seen the affluence of richer wards rubbing off on their less well off neighbours at ever faster rates: the number of wards where the average price of properties sold exceeds £500,000 increased by 27 per cent over the past year, and 153 per cent since 2010.

At the upper end of the scale, the number of wards where average sale prices were £1 million or more has gone from 17 in 2010, to 50 this year.

Highgate joined bordering Hampstead and Hampstead Garden Suburb to become part of £1 million plus prime London this year, while Belsize Park’s proximity to Primrose Hill, Abbey Road and Regent’s Park pushed it over the threshold too.

At the lower end of the scale, wealthy neighbours West Hampstead and St John’s Wood have pushed Kilburn into the £500,000-£750,000 sector for the first time.

All of which rather begs the question of where to go next to get the best value for money near your preferred location.

Whatever your feelings, if money is an object (which for most of us it is), home hunting in north London requires an increasingly open mind and will force you to leave your neighbourhood snobbery at the door if you’re to stand a chance of buying within budget. So where should you look if you’ve got Hampstead tastes but Harlesden pockets?

Under £500,000

The last remaining pocket of value in north London within zone 2 is Holloway (average price £491,180) which may be nudging the threshold but more slowly than many wards, rising 14.6 per cent last year (this sounds a lot until you compare it to the 69.3 per cent rise of Church Street ward in Marylebone last year). Central, with good transport links, period housing stock and posh neighbours, Holloway is an area to watch.

Between artsy Crouch End and family friendly Muswell Hill to the west, and fashionable Harringay, which broke the £500,000 barrier this year, catch Hornsey (average price £491,850, with 24.9 per cent growth this year) while you can. Proximity to the New River and a popular commuter train line, a high street with scope for cafe life and vintage shopping and a couple of new housing developments in the pipeline, mean that prices aren’t likely to stay this low for much longer.

Coppetts ward is lacking the X factor of neighbouring Alexandra Palace and Fortis Green provided by the prized state schooling but with average prices last year set at £422,833 (a good £300,000 less than either of its closest neighbours) and relatively restrained growth rate of 14 per cent, the area is worth taking seriously. Not only that, but streets in N10 boast some of London’s fastest broadband speeds.

For first time buyers, casting the net wider will reap rewards, with Harlesden a top tip for those hoping to stay in north west London. The average sold price this year was £368,180, and values rose 11.7 per cent. Once a by-word for gun crime and dubbed London’s answer to the Bronx, Harlesden is on the brink of regeneration with its Victorian and Edwardian terraces and an influx of young professionals priced out of Queen’s Park. It is now better known as the new Clapton.

Families looking to upsize should consider Barnhill in Brent. Average sold prices in the ward were £437,053 and growth was low at 7.9 per cent, but the area’s on the up with a new French school, a hilltop conservation zone with large detached houses and excellent transport links.