That’s the finding of new research by the buying agents Garrington Property Finders into commuter towns and cities where property prices are rising faster than those in London.
According to Land Registry data, in the 12 months to September, average prices of all London property types rose by 11% – outpacing the 10% chalked up in South East England. But big discrepancies opened up across the commuter belt, with price rises in several Home Counties areas easily outstripping those in the capital.
Garrington has identified the Home Counties’ top ten hotspots, ranking the areas and property types that have seen the fastest price increases, and calculating how much an average home in each will have risen in value during the past year.
Top of the table was Brentwood in Essex, a popular commuter town that’s a 35-minute train ride from London. With prices rocketing by 16% a year, an average semi-detached home in the town appreciated by £64,289 in the 12 months to September – enough to buy 19 years’ worth of rail season tickets at today’s prices.
Canterbury in Kent saw similarly dizzying rates of price growth (16%) with an average terraced house in the city rising in value by £35,899, enough to pay four terms’ worth of fees at The King’s School - founded in 597 and thought to be England’s oldest school.
Meanwhile detached homes in Hertford rose in value by 15% - with their average gain of £83,553 being enough to snap a brand new Range Rover Vogue SE. However the greatest gain of all was made in Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead; with detached homes in the Berkshire town piling on £91,131 in a year, enough for two and a half years of fees at the alma mater of the Prime Minister’s predecessor, nearby Eton College.
Jonathan Hopper, managing director, buying agents Garrington Property Finders, comments: “Every year tens of thousands of Londoners move out of the capital to the surrounding commuter belt, driven by a desire for better value, more space and a wider choice of schools.
But in addition to the usual shopping list for would-be commuters – good transport links, good schools and so on – many buyers will also have one eye on the potential for price growth when choosing a location.
Our research shows just how ‘hot’ some of the Home Counties hotspots have become, with price rises outstripping those in London. The combination of both better value and better rates of capital appreciation is a compelling one, but the picture across the commuter belt is very mixed – and buyers need expert intelligence to identify the areas with the greatest potential. “
