More bang for your buck: the best commuter towns and villages for Londoners searching for bigger homes on smaller budgets
As workforces increasingly turn to flexi hours and working from home, Londoners willing to sacrifice an easy commute for a much bigger house are searching for towns and villages off the familiar home counties map and therefore good value.
The research, by Savills, analyses season ticket data for all 433 commuter stations around London from where journeys to Zone 1 take between 75 minutes and two hours.
TOP DESTINATION: KENT
The top destination is Herne Bay in Kent, despite a lengthy 79-minute chug to central London and a £6,632 annual season ticket price. But when the average house price is £265,000 and an average detached house costs £330,000, no wonder 63 per cent of Herne Bay commuters are heading for London. Prices have grown 43 per cent in the last five years.
Herne Bay lives in the shadow of its fancier neighbour, Whitstable. And while it is no cute fishing village, the town has some good-quality Victorian housing, a pretty sea front and a generous swathe of Blue Flag beach — albeit shingle — lined with beach huts.
Since this is Kent, many local children commute to grammar schools in nearby towns such as Canterbury.
Paul Clarke, director of David Clarke estate agents, says half his clients are families quitting London, including a healthy proportion of those looking to retire to the coast.
Buyers could pick up a smart four-bedroom Victorian semi-detached house for £350,000, or a Brighton-style bow-fronted Regency home on the seafront with four to five bedrooms for about £500,000 to £600,000.
Clarke admits the town has a rather dismal high street, but says there are signs of new life with a few new shops and restaurants, as buyers give up on expensive Whitstable and shift their allegiances.
Herne Bay is one of five Kent locations to make the top 20.
TOP 20 GOOD-VALUE DESTINATIONS
|
Station |
County | Travel time into London in minutes | Season ticket price inc. Travelcard | Average second-hand house price |
| 1 Herne Bay | Kent | 79 | £6,632 | £265,459 |
| 2 Wrabness | Essex | 91 | £6,820 | £281,767 |
| 3 Mistley | Essex | 85 | £6,818 | £249,239 |
| 4 Robertsbridge | East Sussex | 86 | £5,660 | £357,172 |
| 5 Grateley | Hampshire | 77 | £5,900 | £491,720 |
| 6 Birmingham Snow Hill | West Midlands | 103 | £11,216 | £188,826 |
| 7 Pluckley | Kent | 79 | £5,844 | £468,065 |
| 8 Dovercourt | Essex | 100 | £6,840 | £178,437 |
| 9 Etchingham | East Sussex | 77 | £5,660 | £390,349 |
| 10 Smethwick Galton Bridge | West Midlands | 115 | £11,216 | £128,137 |
| 11 Sandwich | Kent | 91 | £7,240 | £331,367 |
| 12 Crowhurst | East Sussex | 95 | £5,828 | £571,306 |
| 13 Great Chesterford | Essex | 76 | £5,756 | £519,792 |
| 14 Hollingbourne | Kent | 77 | £7,184 | £422,033 |
| 15 Stonegate | East Sussex | 76 | £5,660 | £419,100 |
| 16 Newhaven Harbour | East Sussex | 94 | £5,616 | £247,140 |
| 17 Lichfield Trent Valley | Staffordshire | 75 | £11,236 | £261,676 |
| 18 Harrietsham | Kent | 81 | £7,148 | £423,162 |
| 19 Thorpe-le-Soken | Essex | 80 | £6,588 | £285,379 |
| 20 Barnham | West Sussex | 83 | £5,616 | £334,260 |
Source:Savills
IF THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX
Five Essex towns and villages are also on the list, led by two more coastal locations — Wrabness and Mistley, where 62 per cent of station users are season ticket-holding commuters.
In pure numbers there is little to split these two villages set in the lovely Stour Valley countryside, with travel time of 91 and 85 minutes respectively, and season tickets costing £6,820 versus £6,818.
Where there is a little clear blue water is in property prices. Mistley is the more expensive option, with an average detached house costing £346,000. In Wrabness, where a conceptual holiday home built by the artist Grayson Perry has become a tourist attraction, an average detached house costs £325,000.
Buyers looking for a quicker commute will get more bang for their buck in the village of Thorpe-le-Soken, near Clacton in Essex, where an average detached house costs less than £320,000, up 65 per cent in the last five years. The journey time to London is an hour and 10 minutes and the cost of a season ticket is £6,588.
THE TOP EAST SUSSEX DESTINATIONS FOR PRICE GROWTH
The best performer in terms of price growth is Crowhurst, near Hastings in East Sussex, where prices have soared 67 per cent in the past five years to an average of just over £571,000.
A detached house in Crowhurst would cost an average £590,000. This success comes despite its 95-minute each-way trip to London, and the £5,828 cost of an annual season ticket.
Tom Saunders, a director of Goring & Saunders local estate agents, says buyers are drawn to the area by its great schools, including the Ofsted “outstanding” Claverham Community College, in nearby Battle.
As well as its station, Crowhurst has a good pub and a primary school but sadly, no shop. “It is a beautiful little village and it has got that really nice sense of a village community,” adds Saunders. “It is accessible to London when you need to be there, but in my view it is a better way of living.”
Its location within the High Weald and proximity to the south coast are added attractions. Buyers with a budget of £500,000 could pick up a three-bedroom Edwardian semi, while £750,000 would buy a five-bedroom detached house with an acre or so of gardens.
Another commuter-heavy location close to Crowhurst and right in the middle of the High Weald is Robertsbridge, East Sussex, with its sweet high street and ancient timbered buildings. Some 60 per cent of station users have a season ticket despite the 86-minute journey to London. A season ticket costs £5,660 — but this needs to be set against the average house price of £357,000, and the average detached house price of £458,000.