Redefining Affordable Living In London

"How on earth does anyone get on the housing ladder in London these days - particularly the people we need to have living among us such as doctors, nurses, teachers? You can find one very elegant answer to this conundrum near Old Street on the City/Hoxton fringes. There, the highly-regarded Peabody Trust has built an exemplary apartment complex aimed at -- well, everyone, really.

...Nile Street contains 175 homes, of which 128 count as "affordable".

...You buy a 35 per cent share of a flat valued at £193,000. Your mortgage payment on that portion is £430 a month, while your rent and service charge on the remaining 65 per cent is £360: so total monthly outgoings are £790. Usually a couple buys into a flat in this way, dividing the costs between them. The bottom line is that -- if you have no savings -- a couple needs a joint income of £35,600 in order to buy into a shared ownership flat of this kind."