Each commuter minute sees house prices fall £1,000

Friday, 27 July 2007 12:00 AM

Each minute spent commuting to London sees house prices fall by £1,000, new research reveals.

A study from Savills finds commuter trends are having a major impact on property prices outside of the M25.

"More affluent commuters are generally attracted to high value areas, where they can enjoy an improved quality of life, which in turn leads to an increased demand for property and prices go up," explained Lucian Cook director of Savills research.

The study identifies two different groups of London commuters pushed out of the capital by high prices - those living in built-up areas with less expensive homes, and those going for homes in areas offering a better quality of life.

"This group are increasingly moving further from London and having to accept longer commutes in a trade off with house prices," commented Mr Cook.

"As a result in the past five years, house price growth has been much higher at the edge of commuter limits."

The study, which looked at the 12 mainline commuter routes running out of the capital, finds the London to Norwich line has had the biggest impact on house prices in the last five years.

In the previous five years it was the commuter lines running to Kent, Sussex and Hampshire pushing up house prices the most.

Savills predicts the commuter zone will continue to get bigger, as people opt for making fewer journeys but with longer commutes. The estate agent also expects there to be a rise in demand for second homes in the capital.

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