It’s a race to get to Blaydon

Reporter IMMORTALISED in song, Blaydon is also top of the property pops.

Property website Zoopla analysed house price trends in towns within an hour’s commute of 10 cities.

Its researchers identified 10 property hot spots in areas near Newcastle, London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Liverpool and Nottingham. And in the North East, Zoopla identified Blaydon as the Tyneside commuter town with the best yearon-year house price growth.

Based on a typical growth, homeowners in Blaydon can expect their average house price of £150,377 to rise by 9.09% in a year.

The town, which is a five-mile drive from Newcastle city centre, comes fifth in Zoopla’s league table of commuter town house price hot spots Blaydon has bus and rail links to Newcastle, although trains do not call at its station as frequently as other stops on the Tyne Valley line. The town is also close to the MetroCentre and the A1.

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said: “An easy commute into the office is often very near the top of the property wish list for those looking to move home, and these figures show just how valuable it can be to live within easy reach of a city centre.” Lawrence Hall Looking for a home in Blaydon? Head for our dedicated property site at www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/property-news Zoopla’s top 10 commuter towns for house price growth, with the major city nearby, the average house price and the annual growth rate: 1. Swanley, London, £375,066, 10.78% 2. Dursley, Bristol, £297,581, 9.71% 3. Bromsgrove, Birmingham, £301,384, 9.61% 4. Berkhamsted, London, £724,194, 9.18% 5. Blaydon, Newcastle, £150,377, 9.09% 6. Belper, Nottingham, £252,308, 8.94% 7. Ilkley, Leeds, £404,994, 8.52% 8. Atherstone, Birmingham, £236,734, 8.26% 9. Warwick, Birmingham, £383,488, 8.18% 10. Bingley, Leeds, £231,536, 7.91%