Commuting for an hour could save you £450,000 on the cost of your house
Spending an hour on a morning commute could save London workers £450,000 on the price of their home.
According to research by Lloyds Bank, average house prices are 60 per cent lower in commuter towns than in central London, falling from an average of £741,919 in the capital to £294,903 outside it.
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The most affordable commuter town is Wellingborough, where the average house price is £183,345, followed by Peterborough, where the average house price comes to £189,319.
From locations such as Wellingborough, Oxford and Tunbridge Wells, commuters need to fork out an average £4,989 for an annual rail ticket. But, they would need to travel on this journey for 89 years to cancel out the benefit from the drop in house prices.
Andrew Mason, Lloyds bank mortgage products director, said: "Commuters to London who don't mind a longer journey between home and work could reap the financial benefits of living outside of the capital.
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"However the decision of whether to live in the city or further away is not simply a trade-off between financial costs and journey times. Quality of life is also a major factor: family circumstances, better schools, physical environment and homes that offer better value for money also come into the equation."
There are, however, some commuter towns which command a premium for property. Beaconsfield, for example, has a higher average house price than central London, at £996,212. Commuters from Gerrards Cross contend with an average house price of £822,363.