Where to buy along the Crossrail route: the top Buckinghamshire commuter hotspots for price growth and journey time

Langley takes first prize for Bucks as commuter home buyers eagerly anticipate the Elizabeth line opening next year.
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Ruth Bloomfield29 June 2017

The promise of Crossrail has propelled a little-known southern corner of Buckinghamshire into first place in a new study highlighting the county’s top-performing commuter locations.

Homes near Langley station, which sits on the border with Berkshire amid lush countryside, have seen 56 per cent price growth in five years to an average £369,524 as buyers anticipate the Elizabeth line opening next year.

Right now a rush-hour journey from Langley to Paddington takes just 32 minutes, and an annual season ticket costs £2,368. The new train service will give fast, direct services to the West End and City, cutting door-to-door journey times.

Colin Rodgers, director of estate agents B Simmons & Son, says buyers have been pouring in for the last few years. Tax changes have stemmed the flow of buy-to-let landlords but young professionals are still keen on the area, with its choice of modern turnkey properties and character houses.

You get more for your money in Langley than in the posher commuter dormitories north of the M40. A four-bedroom modern detached house would cost about £450,000, with a three-bedroom character cottage about £375,000.

Langley’s advantages also include its location on the doorstep of the Colne Valley Regional Park, some nice village pubs and a choice of schools including Langley Grammar School — “outstanding”, says Ofsted — Langley Hall Primary Academy, and the Langley Academy, both rated “good”.

The key downside of Langley is that it is rather workaday, with basic shops. “It is not a chocolate-box village,” admits Rodgers.

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Aylesbury Vale Parkway

Another practical but non-chocolate box location, Aylesbury Vale Parkway, just north-west of Aylesbury, is an area where intensive new housebuilding is attracting buyers and breaking ceiling prices.

Despite a train journey of 63 minutes to Marylebone — the longest commute of any of the locations featured in today’s study — this area has seen price rises of 48 per cent in five years, to an average £271,773.

Wolverton and Bletchley

The other outperformers highlighted are both satellite villages on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. Wolverton has seen prices rise 47 per cent since 2012, to an average £224,261. The train to Euston takes 49 minutes and an annual season ticket costs £5,028.

Bletchley has seen prices rise 41 per cent to an average £227,649. The commute to London takes 39 minutes and a season ticket costs £4,348. The charm of both villages is that, while subsumed by Milton Keynes, they have managed to retain their own character.

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Famous as the home of the Second World War codebreakers, Bletchley is south-east of the city centre and though it’s not much of a looker, it has good schools, period housing and a pretty location on the River Ouzel and Grand Union Canal.

North-west of Milton Keynes, Wolverton is an old railway village with mostly Victorian terrace houses, plus its own shops, schools, and a station, but the centre of Milton Keynes is just 10 minutes’ drive away.

Live on the waterfront: Wolverton Park apartments beside the Grand Union Canal and opposite Victorian railway sheds in Wolverton, convenient for Milton Keynes centre
David Isaacson/Alamy

Branch manager of Taylors Estate Agents, Ajay Adia says about four in 10 of his buyers are from London, drawn by three-bedroom period houses for £250,000 to £300,000.

For that they also get proximity to the open spaces of Ouse Valley Park, and a choice of schools including “outstanding” Greenleys Junior School. However, for senior pupils, The Radcliffe School “requires improvement” says Ofsted — so parents of older children should study catchment areas before taking the plunge.

TOP BUCKS COMMUTER STATIONS

Station Travel time in minutes (as of Nov 16) Season ticket cost (2017) Average 2nd-hand sale price 5-year change in 2nd-hand price
Beaconsfield 25 £3,072 £1,046,597 31%
Gerrards Cross 22  £2,552 £1,046,180 25%
Seer Green 33 £2,976 £882,699 26%
Chalfont & Latimer 37 N/A £698,419 12%
Great Missenden 42 £2,756 £689,292 38%
Amersham 35 N/A £598,140 15%
Bourne End 54  £3,300 £578,758 26%
Denham  25  £2,136 £477,482 38%
Saunderton 45  £3,508 £476,298 22%
Haddenham/Thame Pkwy 44 £3,952 £465,068 32%
Iver 29 £2,112 £445,221 38%
Princes Risborough 41  £3,548 £416,616 31%
Wendover 48  £3,120 £409,353 26%
Taplow 44  £2,888 £408,460 33%
Cheddington 44  £4,104 £370,244 36%
Langley (Berkshire) 32  £2,368 £369,524 56%
Stoke Mandeville 53  £3,372 £354,299 21%
High Wycombe 32  £3,436 £307,479 35%
Aylesbury Vale Parkway 63  £4,244 £271,773 48%
Milton Keynes Central 37  £5,028 £246,498 30%
Aylesbury 57  £3,920 £239,323 35%
Bletchley 39  £4,348 £227,649 41%
Wolverton 49  £5,028 £224,261 47%

Source: Savills Research using Land Registry & National Rail