London’s commuter belt has taken all 14 bottom places in a new property index comparing the cost and practicality of living outside major UK cities.
Pepper Money analysed 66 commuter towns serving nine cities, comparing house prices, rents, journey times, rail fares, local earnings and quality of life.
Its research finds all 14 locations serving London occupy the bottom 14 positions, reflecting the combination of comparatively high property prices and commuting costs.
By contrast, Birkenhead tops the UK ranking, followed by Beeston, Rotherham, Dronfield and Wallasey.
COMMUTER PREMIUM
Chelmsford is the highest-ranked London commuter location but sits just 56th nationally, with an average property price of £382,000 and monthly rent of £1,447.
It is followed by Luton in 57th place, Slough in 58th and Epsom in 59th.
The contrast with the highest-ranking locations is substantial. Birkenhead has an average property price of £148,911 and a seven-minute journey into Liverpool, while Rotherham combines an average £190,000 house price with a 16-minute commute into Sheffield.
Six of the 10 highest-ranked locations serve Liverpool or Sheffield.
REGIONAL VALUE
Housing affordability is a significant factor in the rankings, with five of those six locations recording average property prices below £215,000.
But the analysis suggests cheaper housing does not necessarily require buyers to accept lengthy journeys into major employment centres.
Beeston and Birkenhead both record journeys of seven minutes, while Dronfield is 10 minutes from Sheffield and Solihull nine minutes from Birmingham.
For first-time buyers, some of the lowest property prices in the study are found in Birkenhead at £148,911, Doncaster at £173,000, Barnsley at £174,000 and Wallasey at £182,475.
Rental costs across the 66 locations range from £670 a month in Barnsley to £1,931 in St Albans.
COMMUTER INDEX
Pepper Money’s index uses UK House Price Index and ONS rental and earnings data alongside rail journey information and ONS wellbeing measures.
The lender cautions that rental and quality-of-life figures are available at local-authority rather than individual town level, while train fares and journey times represent a single-date snapshot.
The ranking is therefore intended to compare the 66 locations analysed rather than provide an individual measure of housing affordability.
