The London exodus: top schools, the best areas and new homes for first-time buyers in Gravesham

Why first-time buyers are moving to Gravesham, Kent

Average first-time buyer spend: £278,910, which would buy a three-bedroom period terrace house or a semi.

Annual price increase: 2.2 per cent.

Proportion of homes sold to first-time buyers: 22 per cent.

The commute: high-speed trains to St Pancras International from 22 minutes; annual season ticket from £3,508.

Schools: parents move to Kent for the grammar schools — and Gravesend, Gravesham borough’s biggest town, does not disappoint, with Mayfield and Gravesend Grammar Schools, plus some cracking feeder schools, too.

What’s new? The very latest phase of Countryside Properties’ 800-home Springhead Park development, west of Gravesend, is on sale now, from £340,000 for a two-bedroom house and from £425,000 for a four-bedroom house (countrysideproperties.com).

The lowdown: affordable and with a great commute, Gravesend has some good period terrace houses at first-time buyer-friendly prices. There are plenty of neighbourhood restaurants, plus pubs in nearby villages.

The Kent Downs are five miles south and day trips to Whitstable are another outdoorsy option.

However, Gravesend’s unattractive and ubiquitous post war housing is a long way from the dream home most buyers imagine, and its dowdy town centre has suffered from its proximity to the nearby Bluewater shopping behemoth.

Sue Sangha, director of Maltbys estate agents, agrees that for a night out she would prefer to take a train to London or nearby Rochester.

“But there are some good local restaurants in Gravesend and Bluewater is close for shopping,” she says.

“There are also big plans to make the town centre more appealing.”

This summer Gravesham borough council announced a deal with developer Reef Group to upgrade the grotty St George’s Shopping Centre with a cinema and restaurants.