The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
Gone in 60 minutes: the hotspots for Londoners
First-time buyers’ money goes much further in these commuter towns within an hour of the capital, writes Rachel Mortimer
Shut out of the lending market and desperate for more space, it is little surprise that the proportion of first-time buyers in London has fallen. But where should reluctant renters turn their attention to if they want a bargain in commuting distance of the capital?
Only 17pc of purchases in the capital are new homeowners, down from a fifth in February 2020, according to Reallymoving, a quote service for homemovers. Young buyers with small deposits have been effectively cut out of the market for most of the last year.
At the same time, changing lifestyle choices has meant many left the capital during the pandemic to settle down further afield, where they can still commute when necessary.
Half of London’s employers are planning to keep remote working in some capacity, according to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. No longer shackled to the city by five days in the office, more first-time buyers have looked to towns further out, where they can get far more for their money.
Rob Houghton of Reallymoving said: “With more London employers announcing they will be implementing flexible working permanently in some capacity, first-time buyers are seeing greater options opening up to them in terms of where they can live.
“They can access a sizeable proportion of the market in several popular locations within an hour of the capital – and are more likely to be able to afford a garden and larger living space.”
First-time buyers in London are also being stymied by the cladding crisis, which has rendered many suitable and affordable flats unsaleable. The Government’s 95pc mortgages are fairly unhelpful in the capital because buyers would require such a high salary to qualify for one due to sky-high values.
While house prices are rising at a much slower rate in the capital than elsewhere in the country, they are still hugely unaffordable: a first-time buyer with a £25,000 deposit and an annual income of £40,000 could afford only 5pc of properties in London.
But within just an hour’s of the city, the picture becomes very different. We did the maths to find the towns and cities that are accessible to a first-time buyer within a short commute.
MORE AFFORDABLE HOMES Swindon in Wiltshire, Colchester in Essex, and Luton in Bedfordshire top the list of commuter hotspots.
In Swindon a first-time buyer with a £25,000 deposit on £40,000 a year would be able to afford almost 37pc of the properties available in the area, according to Reallymoving. Commuters in the town can be at London Paddington within 49 minutes. The Old Town area in Swindon is sought
after by first-time buyers with its bustling restaurants, bars and independent shops, said David Sheridan of Haart, an estate agent.
Badbury Park, to the south east of the town, is also popular with commuters looking for a location with a village feel but with easy access to the M4.
“First-time buyers have always been attracted to Swindon because of the easy commute, but with the ability to now work from home more people are finding they can move 50 or 60 miles from their current location,” he said.
“Suddenly they can afford a property with a garden and parking space which was previously out of reach.”
The average price for a property in Swindon is £247,441, according to property website Rightmove, and semidetached properties go for £254,579. Colchester and Luton follow, where the same first-time buyer could access almost 30pc and 19pc of the housing market respectively using Reallymoving’s deposit and salary calculations.
Homes in Colchester are on average £ 283,904. Matt Lowes of Fenn Wright, an estate agency, said first-time buyers were coming to the area with a typical budget of between £ 150,000 to £300,000.
He said the homes close to the station were preferred by commuters, but the market was so busy that properties in any area were being taken off the market with haste.
Popular neighbourhoods include Stanway and Highwoods, both with close links to the A12, with the latter appealing to older first-time buyer families because of the good schools in the area.
‘The pandemic was the catalyst: we have never seen outdoor space be so important to buyers’
15.5%
TRADING A QUICKER COMMUTE Buyers who want easier access to the office could opt for Milton Keynes, with a journey time to Euston of 33 minutes. Here, a first-time buyer with a £25,000 deposit and £40,000 income can access 14pc of the market. The average property price is £322,319, having risen 4pc since last year, according to Rightmove.
For a different lifestyle, first- time buyers can afford 11pc of properties in Brighton and Hove, according to Reallymoving. An hour’s train ride from London, homes here are expensive, with an average price of £457,673. Values are 11pc higher than last year, according to Rightmove.
James Pepper of Lextons, an estate agency, said the area had soared in popularity with first-time buyers in the past year, adding that this had increased since the Government’s 5pc deposit guarantee scheme launched in April.
“The pandemic was certainly the catalyst, we have never seen outdoor space be such an important factor for buyers. It almost outweighs indoor space,” said Mr Pepper. “There is the allure of the seafront, but also the countryside in the South Downs.”
Properties close to New Church Road, near the seafront in Hove, are in high demand because of their proximity to the beach and train stations. Mr Pepper added that young families were drawn to the neighbourhood known as Poets’ Corner, where houses are smaller but residents are surrounded by trendy pubs and cafés.