Sunday morning rewards: the UK's best-value London commuter towns with new homes, 24-hour trains and countryside on the doorstep

Families are not the only ones searching for a better quality of life and a cheaper home by moving out of London.

Young singles and couples working in the capital but unable to get on the property ladder because of high prices are heading for the commuter belt as out-of-town developers trim prices and offer incentives, even in areas such as Medway in Kent where transport upgrades have dramatically reduced journey times.

HOW FAR OUTSIDE LONDON IS COMMUTABLE?

Ever since railway expansion led to the creation of suburbs and commuter towns, Londoners have been grappling with the house price/distance conundrum.

Many take the view that it’s worth a longer commute to buy a bigger and better property further out. Weekends of country walks and sport are the reward for a bit of weekday drudge.

Sixty minutes one way is the time threshold most commuters want to stick to, which ironically is much the same time many Londoners spend travelling to their workplace within the capital.

CHECK OUT BEDFORDSHIRE'S HOTSPOTS

The combination of lower property prices and quick train links to the capital has made hotspots of Milton Keynes and Luton.

The expanding business district around King’s Cross and Euston stations is another factor, as people who work there can avoid a second-leg journey across London.

MOVE TO MILTON KEYNES

Network Rail’s headquarters is in Milton Keynes and according to the Centre for Cities it is one of the fastest-growing UK cities by population. Fast trains to Euston take less than 40 minutes.

The centre of the New Town, built in 1960, was never intended to be densely residential, more a business and shopping district, but planning priorities have changed and apartment schemes have sprung up on the doorstep of the train station.

Crest Nicholson and Redrow are among big-name developers building in and around Milton Keynes while at Taylor Wimpey’s Oakbrook scheme, prices start at £182,000 and rise to £460,000 for a four-bedroom house. Call 01908 764491.

LUTON FOR LOCATION

Though not the most glamorous place on earth, Luton was recently voted best-value commuter location in the UK.

With an average house price of £252,896 and 24-minute trains 24-hours a day to central London plus good motorway connections, it is on the radar of first-time buyers as well as pilots based at the airport.

Town centre regeneration and an airport upgrade are under way, and housebuilders are redeveloping former industrial land.

The old Vauxhall Motors factory complex is now Napier Park, a 55-acre neighbourhood of homes, shops and parks.

Saxon Square is the latest phase, offering 223 apartments priced from £193,000. This is 60 per cent less than the cost of the typical London home, and stamp duty free, too. Call Redrow on 020 3553 9949.

The Landmark is an office-to-residential conversion where flats start at £170,000. Call Galliard on 020 7620 1500.

BEDFORD GETS A MAKEOVER

Bedfordshire’s county town is 35 minutes on the train from St Pancras, at the end of the Thameslink route through the capital, and has a number of highly rated state and independent schools, along with easy access to lovely countryside.

The town centre is getting a revamp, while a former university campus close to the station has become De Montfort Place, offering smart, good-value homes in new and refurbished buildings, part of a conservation area that has the look and feel of a prosperous pocket of suburban Putney or Wimbledon, but with far cheaper homes.

One-bedroom flats cost from £192,500, and four-bedroom houses from £450,000. Call 01582 742165.

MAKE HEADWAY IN THE MEDWAY

Historic Medway towns halfway along the North Kent coast are worthwhile hunting ground for first-time buyers.

Road and rail upgrades have dramatically reduced journey times to London to about 40 minutes, yet property values remain low by home counties standards.

For example, Rochester has an average house price of £285,410, compared with £414,624 in Reading.

Rochester Riverside is a £419 million waterfront project bringing 1,400 new homes, parks, a school, shops and cafés.

Flats in the first phase start at £210,000, with Help to Buy available. Call 01634 776942.