"With each extra minute you commute out of London via rail, you could potentially save £3,000 on the price of a home. "
It has this month emerged that with every minute you approach central London by train, house prices rise by £3,000.
Or, to put that figure in a much more optimistic light that will appeal to young clients eager to jump on the housing ladder, with each extra minute you commute out of London via rail, you could potentially save £3,000 on the price of a home. That’s pretty staggering, huh? Maybe a longer, jam-packed train commute, isn’t such a dreary thought after all!
The figures
The study, by Savills, found that house prices and deposit requirements plummet with journeys ranging from 19 to 99 minutes out of the capital.
To be more specific - if the house your client is looking at is a 19 to 39 minute commute from central London, and up to just over a mile from a station, it will cost, on average, £499,405. Theoretically then, based on a mortgage in which the loan-to-value is 75%, the buyer would need a deposit of just under £125,000 and a household income of around £83,300.
Buyers willing to extend their commute will be rewarded with increasingly more affordable options, in terms of both property price and deposit requirements. If your client doesn’t mind an 80 to 99 minute commute to St Pancras from somewhere on the commuter belt such as Loughborough for example, the deposit amount falls to £76,744 and required earnings to an even more attainable £51,163.
As far as London is concerned, these sums really aren’t so outrageous - especially when we consider that average house prices in the capital’s most central corners can range from around £970,000 in the likes of trendy Soho to more than £4.5million in upmarket Mayfield.
The commuter towns to eye
Some will argue that the above figures just go to show how overpriced our capital city really has become and use them to justify the argument for why savvy buyers should move elsewhere - up north, for example, where property prices are significantly cheaper, the people supposedly friendlier, the lifestyle slower, and so forth. I can see the comments box below begging for ‘we love the North!’ commentary, as I write this! Indeed, so do I - I am a Liverpool girl working for a Liverpool-based firm, after all. However, I try not to let my northern roots cloud my judgement.
London is, and always will be, London. The capital, for many, offers opportunities and a lifestyle that other UK cities just can’t live up to. Even if they could, the fact of the matter is - people will always want to live in (or near) the capital, especially younger people. Research by the BBC confirmed this recently, naming Islington in London as the top place to live for under 26s, ranking highly for a number of factors such as employment opportunities, places to go out, mental health services and rental availability.
It’s not always realistic to expect younger buyers, once they hit 30 or so, to completely ditch their preferred lifestyle all for the sake of owning a property. Purchasing a home on the London commuter belt is, for many, the perfect compromise.
These some of the top value towns within LDN commuting distance:
• Luton: 26 minutes from London
• Chelmsford: 35 minutes from London,
• Wellingborough: 51 minutes from London
• Haslemere: 54 minutes from London
• Ipswich: 76 minutes to London
• Retford: 92 minutes from London
Encourage your clients to explore their options. The ‘London lifestyle’ can be just as achievable from Surrey or even Nottinghamshire.
Flexibility is key
I really believe that the key to purchasing your dream home, and achieving your dream lifestyle, in a society that is increasingly hectic and changeable, will be all about flexibility. This is a key concept to convey to your clients.
If you aren’t (like most of us) affluent enough to afford property in London zones 1-6, but desperately want to own a home of your own while maintaining much of your life in the capital, think about how a strategic commute could help you achieve that. Be flexible about location.
You may even find you love love living out of the city’s bustle, especially as you start a family.
Flexible working I also believe will be key to the society of the future. If current trends are anything to go by, workplaces will need to accept that inner-city talent will begin moving further and further outside of London’s centre. To retain valuable staff members, a flexible approach to working will be key. Alternating between the office and working from home, for example, would allow employees with dreams of home ownership to balance more suburban life with their London career and lifestyle.
We never know what the property market is going to throw at us next - but with a flexible approach, we’ll all make it. I’m certain!
