Rail commuters to London are now seeing big benefits by catching the train, rather than living closer to work.
Research from Lloyds Bank shows houses are now so much cheaper outside the capital that commuters from the south east, one hour away by train, benefit from a house price that is, on average, £380,000 less than living close to their place of work in zones 1 or 2 of central London.
House prices in a selection of towns about an hour’s train journey away from the capital (including Windsor, Rochester, and Oxford) cost an average £260,000.
That’s £380,000 less than the average property in London zones 1 or 2, which cost around £641,000.
While the annual rail cost from these areas is about £5,000, you would need to commute for 76 years for travel costs to wipe out the savings in house prices.
Move half an hour closer and house prices are higher, but not by much. Commuters from towns in the half-hour zone, such as Beaconsfield, Woking or Luton, pay an average £283,000 for a house – still some £358,000 less than in zones 1 and 2. They also pay less than £4,000 pounds for an annual rail pass.
Even commuters whose journey is just 15 minutes from central London, such as those living in Borehamwood or East Croydon, save an average £276,000 on their house than in central London, while spending less than £2,000 a year on rail.
