Between the manic tourist mosh pit that is Camden Market and the bucolic wilds of Hampstead Heath lies London’s ultimate property sweet spot. Kentish Town is understated, underrated, and — since the pandemic — outperforming.
Its house prices have been quietly outdoing those of the more famous Northern Line villages around it. It also has a celebrity fan base just as starry as anything posher parts of north London can muster.
Its film, TV and musician contingent tends to be lower key than the try-hards who live in Hampstead or Primrose Hill. Venerable locals include Ken Loach, the left-leaning film director, who lives in Dartmouth Park.
Bafta winner and official national treasure Bill Nighy has lived in Kentish Town for years, and frequently campaigns on community issues. And Kelly Macdonald, who appeared with Nighy in The Girl in the Café, lived nearby.
Meanwhile two iterations of Prince Philip in The Crown, Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies, are both frequently spotted.
Tom Hiddleston lived quietly in Kentish Town for years until he became a father and moved up the road to Belsize Park.
Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya was born and raised in a Kentish Town council flat and remains close to his roots as associate artistic director of the Roundhouse, just up the road in Camden Town.
His directorial debut, The Kitchen, featured a cameo from Nev Watson, longtime owner of the Modernage salon, who used to cut Kaluuya’s hair when he was a boy.
Ever since Karl Marx moved into a townhouse on Grafton Terrace in the mid-19th century, Kentish Town has also been a hotbed of left-leaning politicians.
Sir Keir Starmer’s main home is in Kentish Town (as is his favourite pub, the Pineapple), while former Labour leader Ed Miliband lives in Dartmouth Park. Neil Kinnock is up the road, in Tufnell Park.
Labour MPs Sarah Sackman (Finchley and Golders Green) and Georgia Gould (Queen’s Park and Maida Vale) are also Kentish Town locals.
And Dianne Hayter, a former member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, is so fond of the area that, when elevated to the House of Lords, she selected the title Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town.
And yet, somehow, the neighbourhood remains resolutely under the radar.
“Kentish Town is a really undervalued area,” says buying agent Alex Oliver, a director of Prime Purchase. “When you look at what is to the north, west and south, it represents excellent value. You will pay up to £1,100 per square foot for property in Kentish Town — its neighbours would achieve double that, without blinking.”
Value for money is, of course, a relative term, because the swankiest Kentish Town homes sell for millions of pounds.
But according to research by estate agent Hamptons, the average Kentish Town apartment changes hands for £594,000, significantly less than the Camden borough average of £763,000.
An average house would set you back £1.76m, more than £1m less than the £2.85m you could expect to pay across Camden.
This value has helped drive outperforming price growth in Kentish Town in the past five years — up 6.6 per cent while, across inner London, prices have fallen by 4.2 per cent in the same period.
The reasons to live in Kentish Town, beyond prices, are many.
Its mostly Victorian architecture is fine, and its streets of painted houses give a jolly, Notting Hill-on-a-budget vibe, one that is thankfully below the radar of most influencers.
The foodie scene is burgeoning. Parliament Hill, the southern tip of Hampstead Heath with its lido, tennis courts — and superlative views — is just up the road.
Most of the buyers who come to Matthew Stacey, director of Matthew James estate agents, looking for a home in Kentish Town are young professionals — most of the local houses have been converted into flats making it an ideal hunting ground. In recent months he has worked with a lawyer, a casting director, a political analyst and a psychotherapist.
Stacey believes Kentish Town is an exceptionally nuanced location with small pockets of ultra-desirable homes.
The streets on and around Lady Margaret Road, east of the high street and within walking distance of the Pineapple pub, are aspirational, while homes in the streets of micro-neighbourhood Dartmouth Park attract a 15 per cent premium largely thanks to proximity to the Heath.
Popular too are Kentish Town’s character streets — the painted terraces of Kelly Street and Leverton Street, the Georgian cottages lining the cobbled Little Green Street.
But there are also less desirable pockets, says Stacey, particularly those surrounding the local council estates on the west side of the high street, which tend to be cheaper than average — but could be poised to close the gap.
Late last year permission was granted for the redevelopment of the deteriorating 1960s West Kentish Town Estate, which will be replaced with 850 modern energy-efficient homes.
This west side story will become even more compelling if £1bn plans for the Camden Film Quarter are approved.
This development of around 500 homes plus almost a dozen production studios is backed by Yoo Capital, the firm behind the redevelopment of both the Olympia exhibition centre and Shepherd’s Bush Market.
What public response the film quarter will receive remains to be seen, but the residents of NW5 are certainly not shy about making their feelings known when it comes to big bang regeneration.
Plans to redevelop Murphy’s Yard, a 15-acre former railway depot, with more than 800 homes plus offices, collapsed under the weight of local protest.
Would-be developer Folgate Estates withdrew its controversial planning application in 2022 amid outrage that its proposed towers would be clearly visible from Hampstead Heath.
More recently, in true north London style, plans to use the site as a temporary padel and sports club have been proposed.
The club would add a new string to Kentish Town’s extremely diverse bow because — contrary to first impressions of the somewhat downtrodden high street — this is a foodie destination in the making.
From the Southampton Arms, with its hipster craft beers and regular music nights, to the Parakeet, one of the best modern British gastropubs in London, Kentish Town does pubs well.
There is also an outstanding range of restaurants, from local landmark Rossella, feted for its laid-back, family-friendly atmosphere and incredibly large portions of Italian comfort food, to Belly bistro, where you can sample authentic Filipino cuisine.
Grab a buttery pastry at Kossoffs or, for something fancier, try out French dining room Patron.
There is a regular Saturday farmers’ market at Parliament Hill too.
Tired of eating? You could catch a band at the Forum, see a play at the Lion & Unicorn’s pub theatre, get back to nature at Kentish Town City Farm, or try out one of the three pools at the Kentish Town Sports Centre.
Camden Town is on the doorstep, but far away enough that you don’t have to deal with the morning-after, while a Northern Line Tube stop plus Thameslink make commuting almost painless.
There is so much to do in Kentish Town that Lee Stimson, 46, rarely feels the need to leave. Lee moved from Stratford-upon-Avon to London in 2024 to be closer to friends and family, and picked Kentish Town because of its central location. He rents a flat with a friend.
“It is quite a vibrant place, quite eclectic and good for a night out,” he says. “There is a lot going on. There are a lot of music venues, and the people are friendly.”
Emlyn Parks, sales manager at Chestertons estate agents, says a walk along Kentish Town Road will tell you everything you need to know about the area. “There is a Gail’s bakery and a Poundstretcher,” he says.
“Kentish Town attracts the same sort of cross-section. Some of the houses cost banker money but there is also a lot of council housing.”
After a flat 2025, in terms of price growth, Parks anticipates a “little bit” of upward movement this year.
“There is a lot of pent up demand and interest rates are better than they have been for a few years,” he says.
