A Surrey commuter town is currently so popular with buyers that property price rises mean that the cost of a rail season ticket into London can be covered within days.
Esher property rose in value by an average of 9.25% last year, the equivalent of £256.66 per day. This would cover the cost of an annual season ticket into London worth £2,080 in just over eight days, according to new research from Zoopla, quoted in the Telegraph.
The town tops a list of the top ten locations where the cost of commuting to the nearest large town or city for work can be paid off quickly by the theoretical property price rises. Surbiton and Tandridge were the only other London commuter towns in the top 10, all three benefiting from a cocktail of high house prices, increasing levels of growth, and lower train fares.
At the other end of the scale, property in Greenock, near Glasgow, are increased in value by just 1.28pc last year, so it would take 329 days for an average home’s growth to pay off the season ticket price of £1,564.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “Rising rail fares will have been unwelcome news for commuters heading back to work this week, but our figures may at least soften the blow slightly for those already living in the suburban locations at the top end of the table.”
At the same time, house prices near the soon-to-launch Crossrail ‘Elizabeth Line’ in Essex, UK, have risen by up to 53.8% in just three years, new data suggests.
Areas close to an ‘Elizabeth Line’ station, such as Gidea Park, Brentwood and Shenfield have rocketed, according to new research by Beresfords Estate Agents.
For example, the price an average three-bed semi-detached home in Brentwood has leapt from £325,000 in 2013 to £500,000 in 2016.
In the last year alone the price has gone-up by 11.1% at a time when other areas in the East of England grew 6.4%, according to the House Price Index by Rightmove.
Terry Holmes, Director, Beresfords, “There is a huge demand for housing in Essex from commuters. Although Essex has seen substantial price hikes it is still a very affordable option compared to other home county locations.
“The arrival of Crossrail will offer commuters faster connections to London Liverpool Street, and when the line is fully opened, offer quick and very accessible links to central London, Canary Wharf, London Heathrow and further afield.”
Crossrail will officially open its services from Shenfield to London Liverpool Street in May 2017 and the full line and range of services are due to open in December 2019.
