Pimlico or Canonbury: Which Is Better Value?
Pimlico averages £1,000,000 against £950,000 in Canonbury, a gap of £50,000 or 5%. You would need £5,000 more deposit and about £263 a month more on a repayment mortgage at an assumed 5% over 25 years. Canonbury charges £1,060 more council tax at Band D.
Pimlico averages £1,000,000 against £950,000 in Canonbury, a gap of £50,000 or 5%. You would need £5,000 more deposit and about £263 a month more on a repayment mortgage at an assumed 5% over 25 years. Canonbury charges £1,060 more council tax at Band D.
Price and deposit
The headline gap is £50,000, or 5%. On a 10% deposit that is £5,000 more cash to find before you start. Detached homes average £1,500,000 against £1,425,000.
Pimlico against Canonbury
Town guides for each: Mortgage advice in Pimlico and Mortgage advice in Canonbury.
Schools and families
Canonbury holds its own on schools, with 2 graded Outstanding at their last graded Ofsted inspection (before September 2024) against 1 in Pimlico. Counting last graded Ofsted inspections (before September 2024), Pimlico has 4 schools and Canonbury has 4 schools graded Good or better.
A strong catchment in the cheaper town can cost more than an average street in the dearer one. Compare catchments, not averages.
Running costs and getting to work
Band D council tax is £1,048 in Pimlico and £2,108 in Canonbury, a difference of £1,060 a year.
The honest verdict
Canonbury is cheaper to buy on these figures. Pimlico carries the higher price and, on this data, not the stronger school profile.
Neither is right in the abstract. If the deposit is your constraint, the £5,000 difference matters more than anything else here. If catchment is the constraint, price follows the school you need.
What each town is actually like
Price is one axis. These are the things people move for, and the things they find out afterwards.
Pimlico
In its favour- Cubitt stucco terraces and garden squares
- Materially cheaper than Belgravia or Chelsea next door
- Tate Britain and a mile of riverside on the doorstep
- The lowest council tax Band D in England
- Pimlico station is Victoria line only, no interchange
- Short leases are common and can be expensive to extend
- Within the Thames tidal floodplain behind defences
- Service charges and major works in big blocks can be heavy
Best for Professionals ★★★★★
Walk to Westminster, Victoria and Millbank, or take the Victoria line one stop to Victoria and three to Oxford Circus, with Victoria station, the Gatwick Express and the south-coast mainline a walk away. Few central addresses suit government, political and City-adjacent work better.
Canonbury
In its favour- Exceptionally quiet and leafy for inner London
- Almost entirely period; squares, villas and long gardens
- Two Overground lines plus the Victoria line minutes away
- The New River Walk, Canonbury Square and Highbury Fields
- One of the highest price floors in the borough
- Conservation-area and listing rules limit alterations
- Almost no off-street parking; permits are emissions-banded
- Very little accessible stock for first-time buyers
Best for Families ★★★★★
Quiet, filtered, leafy streets with long private gardens on the Alwyne roads, Highbury Fields and the New River Walk within a few minutes, Canonbury Primary rated Good, and both Highbury Fields School (Outstanding) and two City of London academies within reach, genuinely one of the better inner-London family districts, if you can meet the price.
Pimlico and Canonbury, side by side
| Measure | Pimlico | Canonbury |
|---|---|---|
| Average property price | £1,000,000 | £950,000 |
| Average detached | £1,500,000 | £1,425,000 |
| 10% deposit | £100,000 | £95,000 |
| Illustrative monthly payment | £5,261 | £4,998 |
| Band D council tax | £1,048 | £2,108 |
| Outstanding rated schools | 1 | 2 |
| Good rated schools | 3 | 2 |
Local averages used for illustration. Confirm your own figures before acting.
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Questions people ask
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