Inside the new commuter belt: from Oxfordshire to Essex

The rise of hybrid working has meant buyers are willing to endure a longer commute so they can have a bigger house. London’s newly expanded commuter belt now includes many locations within a 90-minute ride, which have become hot spots in the ‘race for space’. But access to the capital is still important for part-time commuters – so which areas tick both boxes?

For the hybrid workforce, being able to drive 10-15 minutes to a station with regular trains into the capital is key, along with easy access to a motorway or trunk road.

Savills analysed 439 commuting stations and found that for those which had a travel time of between 85-95 minutes, the average second-hand sale price of property within 2km of these stations is £308,000, 25 per cent lower than the average of £411,000 seen across the 50 most popular commuting hotspots (41 to 68 minutes into central London).

Examples of locations with an 89-minute train ride into London include Salisbury with an average sold price of £323,781 in the past 12 months; Stafford (£192,211) and Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds at £358,635.

Estate agents in the Cotswolds have without doubt been a beneficiary of hybrid commuting trends, and new businesses are popping up to cater for all the DFLs (in case they fancy a break from Soho Farmhouse).