Camden housing statistics 2026
Camden's homes are older and dearer than London's as a whole. Nearly half of them were built before 1900, against a fifth across London, most households now live in a flat, and the average home costs £798,486, about 44% more than the London average even after a sharp fall in the last year. These are the numbers behind that story.
Every figure comes from an official source and is dated, so you can see exactly what you are working with before you plan a home renovation in Camden. The sources are numbered in brackets and listed in full at the end of the page.
When Camden's homes were built
Camden Town takes its name from Charles Pratt, created Earl Camden in 1786, who came to own the estate through his marriage. By the time he died in 1794 he had already granted several leases on the southern part of the property, starting the development that his son carried on [1].
Building was slow at first. In the winter of 1822 to 1823 Charles Dickens's father took one of the small houses in Bayham Street, then, in the words of Dickens's biographer John Forster, "about the poorest part of the London suburbs". A map of 1834 still shows sparse building, and after 1834 development was more rapid [1].
That 19th-century building still shapes the borough. Of Camden's 114,360 homes, 44.5% were built before 1900, more than twice London's 20.8%. Only 8.9% date from between the wars, against 22.0% for London, and 13.9% from 2000 onwards, against 18.5% [2].
How Camden households live
The 2021 Census found 86.6% of Camden households living in a flat, against 54.0% across London. 56.2% live in a purpose-built block and 26.2% in a flat inside a converted house, well over twice London's 11.1% [3].
Only 13.4% of households live in a house, and just 8.1% in a terraced house, against 21.3% for London [3]. With so many of the borough's older houses now divided into flats, a kitchen renovation in Camden is usually about getting more from the same floor area.
Who owns Camden's homes
In Camden, more households rent privately than own their home. 35.6% rent from a private landlord, against 30.0% across London, while 29.6% own, 15.9% outright and 13.7% with a mortgage, against 45.2% for London [4].
A further 33.7% rent from the council or a housing association, against 23.1% across London [4].
What a Camden home costs
The average Camden home cost £798,486 in August 2026, 10.6% less than a year earlier [5]. Even after that fall it is about 44% above the London average of £554,430, and about 2.7 times the England average of £293,525. London prices fell by 2.2% over the same year [6].
Camden has been well above the London average for the whole of the last twenty years. In August 2006 the average home here cost £402,772, against London's £274,815. Prices peaked at £893,099 in August 2025, and the fall since then is the second steepest in twenty years, after the 11.1% drop between August 2008 and August 2009 [6].
Flats, terraces and the gap between them
A flat or maisonette in Camden averaged £656,955 in August 2026 and a terraced house £1,533,317, a gap of £876,362. Semi-detached homes averaged £2,080,738 and detached homes £3,574,639 [5]. At the top of that range, interior design in Camden is often part of the plan from the start.
First-time buyers paid an average of £696,585 in August 2026, while owners moving home paid £999,539 [5]. That gap is what most Camden owners weigh up before they move. For a family already in a terrace, a house extension in Camden adds room without paying for the next rung of the ladder.
What it costs to rent in Camden
The average private rent in Camden was £2,834 a month in September 2026, up 1.4% on a year earlier [5]. A one-bedroom home averaged £2,063 a month and a home with four or more bedrooms £3,986.
With private renting the largest tenure in the borough, a dated bathroom is often the first thing a bathroom renovation in Camden puts right between tenancies.
Council Tax bands in Camden
Council Tax bands are based on what a home would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991 [7]. In Camden, 15.8% of homes are in Bands G and H, more than twice London's 7.6%, and 4.3% are in Band H alone, against 1.8% across London [2].
Band D is still the largest single band, with 23.4% of homes, and 31.9% are in Bands A to C, against 43.8% for London [2].
The rules on your street
Camden has 40 conservation areas, which the council says cover about half of the borough [8].
The council says that to alter a property in a conservation area you will usually need planning permission [8]. Article 4 directions also remove certain permitted development rights from houses and flats in parts of eight of them, including Belsize, Hampstead, Primrose Hill and South Hampstead, and five of those directions were adopted on 9 June 2026 [9]. Digging down is one of the jobs where those rules matter most, so a basement conversion in Camden starts with a check of the address.
Camden Council says a high volume of applications means it is currently taking longer than usual to validate and decide them [10]. The national time limit is 8 weeks for most applications and 13 weeks for major development [11]. With half the borough in a conservation area, it is worth checking your street on the council's map before anyone starts drawing, then asking up to three vetted builders in Camden to quote against the same plans.
Camden housing statistics at a glance
- Average house price, August 2026: £798,486 (London £554,430) [5] [6]
- Change on a year earlier: -10.6% (London -2.2%) [5] [6]
- Average flat or maisonette: £656,955 (London £427,310) [5] [6]
- Average terraced house: £1,533,317 (London £648,650) [5] [6]
- Average private rent, September 2026: £2,834 a month [5]
- Homes built before 1900: 44.5% (London 20.8%) [2]
- Households living in a flat: 86.6% (London 54.0%) [3]
- Households who rent privately: 35.6% (London 30.0%) [4]
- Households who own their home: 29.6% (London 45.2%) [4]
- Conservation areas: 40, covering about half the borough [8]
Frequently asked questions
References
- British History Online, Survey of London volume 24: Camden Town. The parish of St Pancras part 4, published 1952.
- Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties 2026. Table CTSOP4.1, properties by build period and Council Tax band at 31 March 2026.
- ONS, Census 2021 table TS044: Accommodation type. Households by type of home, Camden and London.
- ONS, Census 2021 table TS054: Tenure. Households by tenure, Camden and London.
- ONS, Housing prices in Camden. UK House Price Index for August 2026 and Price Index of Private Rents for September 2026, published 21 October 2026.
- HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index. Average prices for Camden, London and England, August 2006 to August 2026.
- GOV.UK, How domestic properties are assessed for Council Tax bands. Accessed 29 October 2026.
- Camden Council, Conservation areas. Accessed 29 October 2026.
- Camden Council, Article 4 Directions: heritage and conservation. Accessed 29 October 2026.
- Camden Council, Apply for planning permission. Accessed 29 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Determining a planning application. Statutory time limits for deciding applications. Accessed 29 October 2026.
Thinking of improving rather than moving?
Tell us about your Camden home and what you want to change. We'll give you a free estimate, then up to three vetted builders quote against the same specification.