Property styles in Havering: Havering’s housing stock spans several distinct eras across its towns. Interwar and post-war semi-detached houses form the backbone of Hornchurch, Gidea Park and Elm Park, while Upminster, Cranham and the borough’s rural fringe hold a higher share of detached homes on wider plots. Gidea Park was designated a conservation area in 1970 for the Garden Suburb built under Sir Herbert Raphael in the early twentieth century, with houses by well known architects of the day set within generous grounds. Harold Hill and Harold Wood include more ex-council terraces and maisonettes, giving buyers a wider spread of budgets across the borough.
Emerson Park holds some of Havering’s highest value streets, with addresses such as Parkstone Avenue and Freeman Way home to detached houses selling for £1.5 million and above. Upminster and Cranham hold the largest concentration of detached houses on generous plots, while terraced Victorian and Edwardian streets close to Romford and Gidea Park stations remain popular with first time buyers.
Developments: Havering’s council-led 12 Sites programme, delivered with Wates Residential in a £1.5 billion joint venture, is bringing more than 3,500 new homes to the borough. The Waterloo Estate regeneration in Romford is the largest of these, set to deliver 1,380 homes alongside commercial space and a new village green, with planning approval for its latest phase granted in February 2026. In Rainham, the Beam Park scheme has completed over 1,150 homes across its first two phases, plus a new primary school which opened in November 2025. Angel Way in Romford town centre is adding a further 106 homes.
Property prices: The average sold property price across Havering is £470k over the past year, according to Rightmove, while the ONS puts the average house price at £453k as of May 2026, up 2.8% on the year. Semi-detached houses, the borough’s most common property type, sold for an average of £537k, terraced houses for £450k and flats for £263k.
Rental market: Average monthly rent in Havering reached £1,563 in June 2026, according to the ONS, a rise of 2.7% on the previous year and a steeper increase than the London-wide figure of 2.2%. Three bedroom properties saw the largest annual rise at 3.0%, while four or more bedroom rents grew by 2.2%. Terraced rents rose faster than detached rents, at 2.9% against 2.1%. Havering remains one of the more affordable boroughs for tenants, with rents typically well below the London average of £2,302 a month, a gap that continues to draw commuters priced out of inner London and supports steady demand for landlords letting property here.
