Want to get out of London to make your house buying budget stretch further, but still need to be in town regularly for work or social life?
A study by estate agent Savills has compared average house prices and season ticket costs across 350 locations across London’s hinterland to find the best-value options. And for those willing to chill on the train for up to an hour each way the savings could be life changing:
Rugby Market Town
Wikipedia
Average price of a three bedroom house: £257,061
Saving compared to Zone 2: 65 per cent
Local knowledge: The town of Rugby is, to be polite, a mixed bag, and nowhere is that clearer than in the town centre where lovely old buildings rub shoulders with hideous strip malls filled with charity shops and discount stores.
Like everywhere it has good and bad neighbourhoods. Michael Cruickshank, an independent property consultant at Horts estate agents, says that the most popular addresses are in Dunchurch, three miles south of the town centre, and close to Draycote Water, a local beauty spot. Dunchurch has its own collection of pubs, shops, and restaurants, and a really wide range of properties from thatched cottages to new builds.
An average three-bedroom semi would cost around £325,000, much higher than the Rugby average but still outstanding value by London standards.
Another option is Holton, four miles south east of the town centre, which Cruikshank says is becoming extremely popular with London exiles. It has The Tuning Fork, a surprisingly-stylish restaurant given its very suburban location, and a David Lloyd Gym with padel courts. “It has just got a really nice vibe,” says Cruickshank, who says prices are similar to those found in Dunchurch.
Schools: as well as the eponymous public school, most of Rugby’s schools are rated “good” by Ofsted while Lawrence Sheriff School (seniors) gets top marks from the school’s watchdog.
Trains: From 54 minutes to Euston.
Leighton Buzzard
Wikipedia
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
Average price of a three bedroom house: £348,354
Saving compared to Zone 2: 62 per cent
Local knowledge: With the Chiltern Hills on one side and London on the other Leighton Buzzard is a great “best of both worlds” town.
Its high street is a little suburban, with too many pound stores, but for those who care about such matters there is a Waitrose, plus some pretty good neighbourhood restaurants, led by rustic Italian Mama Rosa’s, as well as plenty of traditional pubs.
“It is definitely up and coming,” says Nick Board, director of estate agent Hunters. “Particularly over the last four years we have really noticed more independent shops and wine bars, they are building a new leisure centre, it is an improving place.”
Leighton Buzzard
Unsplash
As far as homes go you will find a lot of slightly dull postwar properties, as well as a few streets of period houses. For more of a cute country aesthetic try the satellite villages Soulbury and Stewkley.
In town, Board suggests that Londoners start their property hunt in Linslade, less than a mile west of the town centre, and right by the station, where homes range from Victorian to post-war, and a three-bedroom semi will cost around £375,000 to £400,000.
Schools: Generally popular and well thought of, with an “outstanding” special school. Parents of older children do need to take care with catchment areas, however, as Gilbert Inglefield Academy is considered “inadequate” by Ofsted.
Trains: From half an hour to Euston.