Londoners lured to 'sexy' suburbs by cheaper house prices

Friday, 15 February 2008 12:00

Every extra minute travelled home by a London commuter slashes £1,000 off their property's price, making the suburbs an alluring option for buyers.

That is according to estate agent Savills, which has noticed a growing trend among Londoners for moving away from the capital and into the Home Counties where properties are cheaper.

And while plenty of buyers are in search of the so-called Good Life, many are simply fed up with soaring costs of London properties pricing them out of the market and are moving out in search of a more affordable home.

According to Lucian Cook, director of research at Savills, the estate agent has identified two kinds of location providing a lure to Londoners.

He said: "You have the really sexy commuter areas where people are going to move to for quality of life. That would be your traditional commuter areas - the likes of Sussex and county and partly Surrey.

"But equally, you have the emergence of commuter areas where people move to take advantage of lower house prices. Often, you find that those areas are some of the built-up accommodations within an hour of London."

Location aside, one thing is proving widespread - the rise in commuters. Savills said while it has found some Londoners have "upped sticks" entirely and moved their home and jobs out of London, increasing numbers are opting to endure a longer commute.

Mr Cook said: "Our key stat is that for every extra minute you have to travel, that knocks £1,000 off of the average house price. It is £1,000 cheaper but you have to travel for an extra minute, effectively. People are increasingly looking for that kind of trade-off."

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