House prices soar in commuter towns to soften the blow of rising train fares
COMMUTER hotspots are enjoying a surge in property prices as more workers choose to live just outside Britain’s largest cities.
Swanley, in Kent, has seen the most dramatic growth, with house values soaring £36,500 in the past year.
The town, less than a 40-minute train journey from London, now boasts an average property price of £375,000 after a rapid 10.78 per cent growth spurt.
The surge in prices has been a welcome boost for commuters, many of whom are reeling from rising rail fares.
Swanley commuters would claw back the cost of their £2,500 annual rail fare to London within 25 days under the current growth rate.
Dursley, a small town on the outskirts of Bristol, saw the next highest growth with an average property price of £297,581 – 9.71 per cent (£26,339) higher than last year.
Commuter hotspots in the Midlands featured three times in the top 10 list.
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Home values in Bromsgrove, 25 minutes by train from Birmingham, rose by 9.61 per cent to an average of £301,384.
Also in the Midlands, prices in Atherstone, 20 miles from Birmingham, have risen by 8.26 per cent.
Warwick, close to both Birmingham and Coventry, saw an increase of 8.18 per cent.
Commuter towns in West Yorkshire, within easy reach of Leeds, also performed well.
Homes in Ilkley, 30 minutes away on the train, have risen by 8.52 per cent.
Belper, near Nottingham, also enjoyed a big price increase, with values up by 8.94 per cent in a year.
Lawrence Hall, of property website Zoopla, which conducted the research, said: “An easy commute into the office is often very near the top of the property wish list for those looking to move home.
“These figures show just how valuable it can be to live within easy reach of a city centre.
“Towns with good transport links into Birmingham have performed Price rises...Belper, near Nottingham particularly well in 2017 due to continued demand in the region, which offers better value compared to the south of the country.”
Average train ticket prices across Britain have gone up by 3.4 per cent, with rail commuters paying up to £2,500 more for a season ticket to work than they were at the beginning of the decade.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics revealed that UK property prices increased by an average of 4.5 per cent in the year to October, down from 4.8 per cent in September. Swanley, in Kent, saw the biggest rise in home values