Target areas for first-time buyers priced out of capital

Tired of London but not tired of life? Ruth Bloomfield checks out some appealing options within easy commuting distance

Alison Gaughan and Terance Puna loved living in central London – but the price they paid for easy access to theatres and galleries, great restaurants and a thrumming nightlife was just too high.

Their rented two-bedroom garden flat in Shepherd’s Bush was a tight fit with two children, Rían, now 10, and Lonán, seven. And its £ 1,850 per month rent took a huge chunk out of their income. “It really was beyond our means,” says Puna, general manager of removal firms Gentleman & A Van and Burke and Wills. “We were always living on our credit cards.”

When the Stamp Duty holiday was announced in the summer of 2020 it seemed like too good an opportunity for them to miss out on. Firmly priced out of London, they began looking for a family house in the home counties. In 2021 they joined the rising tide of priced- out first-time buyers who are skipping over the M25 in search of an affordable home. Their modern three-bedroom detached home, in the southern Winchester suburb of Badger Farm, cost £383,000.

According to recent research by estate agent Hamptons, 30pc of Londoners buying a property outside the capital last year were first-time buyers, as high interest rates crunched what buyers could afford. Ten years ago, they accounted for 12pc of such sales.

While some of these pioneers are looking for a complete change of lifestyle alongside a comparatively affordable home, others are reluctant London leavers who want a decent commute back into town, value for money, and at least some of the mod cons of city life.

Those moving out – not because they are tired of capital city life but because they can’t afford it – have some appealing urban options within two hours’ commute of central London.

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Norwich, Norfolk

Hipper than you’d imagine, this arty university city is shrugging off its Alan Partridge reputation.

St Giles Street, with its boutiques, vintage shops, delis and restaurants, is a more than serviceable match for Battersea’s Northcote Road or Islington’s Upper Street. The walkable historic city centre is beautiful, and there is a thriving cultural scene centred on the Sainsbury Centre art gallery.

For those who need to show their faces in the office, trains to London take an hour and a half, while the Norfolk Broads and coastline is an easy hop.

James Colbeck-Rowe of estate agency Winkworth, says that there has been an increasing ripple of ex-Londoners coming to his home city, particularly now so many people work from home at least part of the time. They tend to gravitate towards the Golden Triangle, next to the city centre, prized for its Victorian properties, community spirit and independent shops and cafes. A terraced house in The Triangle is about £340,000, while you could expect to pay about£170,000 for a flat.

“Norwich is a city rich in culture and heritage,” says Colbeck-Rowe. “The city is also famous for its lively marketplace, Europe’s largest undercover market.”

Cambridge

The university city includes some of the country’s most expensive pockets of real estate – in leafy Newnham you could pay £ 1m- plus for a three- bedroom terrace. Yet less than two miles away you will find a rare pocket of value, in and around Mill Road, southeast of the city centre. Locals consider it buzzy and convenient, with its milelong stretch of independent shops, cafés and restaurants, Cambridge’s answer to Peckham. Cambridge station is a 20-minute walk and trains to King’s

Cross take less than 50 minutes. Its side streets are lined with good value period terraces. Anton Frost, of estate agency Carter Jonas, says you could pick up a three-bed house there for £ 550,000 to £ 650,000. Two- bedroom flats are £350,000 to £400,000.

WINCHESTER, Hampshire

This compact cathedral city saw unprecedented demand during the pandemic and although its prices shot up as a result, it will still seem like decent value compared with London.

Kevin Allen, at John D Wood & Co, estimates that an average two-bed flat would cost £ 500,000, while house buyers need to budget £750,000 to £ 800,000. Yes, you could equally remain in London for this money – but you’d have to compromise heavily.

Allen thinks ex-Londoners fall for it because it has the same mixture of glorious architecture, history, and vibrant bars and restaurants. It also has more than its fair share of theatres, galleries, and cinemas. It has green space, good schools and trains to Waterloo take from 55 minutes.

For the Gaughan-Puna family the move has been a huge success. “It is super quiet here,” says Puna.

In some ways it has been a shock to the system. “Winchester does not have a nightlife,” says Puna. “When the pubs are closed, it is closed. But the quality of life is so much better.”

PINKNEYS GREEN, Maidenhead, Berkshire

With trains to Paddington taking just 20 minutes and Crossrail offering slightly slower, but seamless, journeys to the West End, the City, and Canary Wharf, this is a hard- to- beat option when commutability is key.

First impressions are not fantastic. Step out of the station and you are assaulted by dual carriageways, halfbuilt blocks of flats and big-box stores.

But scratch beneath the surface and there are signs of change, from the swish new leisure centre to the planned redevelopment of the 1960s Nicholsons shopping centre. Open space is a strong point.

Best of all are the house prices. According to Hamptons the average property price is £605,000, with flats trading for just over £300,000.

Probably the nicest part of town is the leafy Pinkneys Green, a village outpost two miles from the town centre, where you can knit yourself into the local community by joining the cricket team or enjoying a pint or two at The Pinkneys Arms. Acquired a lockdown puppy? They will live their best lives with the National Trust-run Maidenhead and Cookham Commons on the doorstep.