The gentrification of Brixton is something I had not actually sat down and thought about for a while, however I went to a comedy night in Battersea recently and the headline act Mr Dane Baptiste made light of it, which got me thinking….

This month marks the 5-year anniversary of my move to London from Leeds and takes me to over 10 and a half years in the property sector, starting my career in mortgages, moving onto Estate Agency and then now property recruitment.
What have I seen in my years in property…. Price increases and, as I say in most of my blogs, the increase in calibre of Estate Agency.

Here is a link to one of my previous blogs;  https://www.cherrypickpeople.com/2017/07/24/its-all-gone-south/

In the first Property Agency that I worked at, I remember walking into the kitchen and hearing the manager and the senior negotiator discussing how they knew that Brixton was on its way up and as soon as the larger agencies spotted the potential in that area, we would see house prices go up and the gentrification process would begin.

By definition gentrification means:
“the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste”

So what have we seen in the past 5 years:

Has Brixton become middle class?

Has Brixton changed for the better, the worse or are we still undecided?

Is it the new Shoreditch? Is it even trying to be the new Shoreditch?

Is it unaffordable?

I personally think Brixton has changed for the better, the increase in house prices has helped many of the vendors that I worked with 5 years ago, they were able to make the most of the money that they had made on their properties. Many of them were able to move further out to areas such as Croydon, which has fantastic transport links, often buying bigger properties, without having to take a mortgage out and still having funds left over. Many people were selling their homes for over double what they bought it for.

Having pop ups such as ‘Brixton Pop’, the ever changing Brixton market, lots of trendy bars and diverse restaurants around has brought money into the area which you can see has been invested back into the community.

The community is still very culturally diverse and the Brixton spirit is present and is as strong as ever.

Looking at house prices too, I remember a 4-bedroom house on Saltoun Road, being on the market for £900,000 and many people claiming that it was overpriced and that “anyone who bought it must be mad as they wouldn’t make money on it” – that house eventually sold for £875,000 buy only a few years has passed and it is now worth approximately £1,200,000 which looks like a pretty good investment to me!

Brixton is full of little gems like this and with house prices still increasing, it makes it a really exciting place to work.

I currently have a few opportunities in the Brixton area for senior sales and lettings negotiators who are looking for a fresh challenge and to experience the changing face of Brixton and its surrounding areas first hand. With packages starting at £16,000 going up to £24,000 and healthy commission structures, there is no time like the present, where will you be in 5 years’ time?

I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on the gentrification of Brixton and would love to know what changes you have seen over the years.

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