Best value commuter hotspots within an hour to London revealed
Britain's oldest recorded town Colchester offers the cheapest combined annual mortgage and season ticket commute to London.
The latest Commuters Affordability Index from Zoopla has revealed that Colchester is the best value commuter hotspot for London taking 49 minutes to Liverpool Street.With a combined annual mortgage and season ticket costing under £15,000 these top ten locations should be considered by first time buyers, home movers and buy-to-let investors.
The most expensive commuter town was St Albans in Hertfordshire with a combined mortgage and season ticket costing £21,405 although taking only 21 minutes to London.
For the most affordable annual season tickets, Birmingham from Rowley Regis costs only £680 taking 16 minutes followed by Wolverhampton at £845 and a 19 minute commute.
Top ten commuter towns to London
The best value combined cost for mortgage and season ticket is Colchester in Essex at £13,288 per year increasing to tenth place at £14,579 for Folkestone.The following table from Zoopla shows combined annual mortgage and season ticket costing in 2019 and fastest rail journey times to Central London in minutes.
| Town | Combined cost | Train to London |
|---|---|---|
| Colchester | £13,288 | 49 mins |
| Huntington | £13,367 | 57 mins |
| Peterborough | £13,618 | 49 mins |
| Manningtree | £13,753 | 59 mins |
| Bedford | £13,937 | 47 mins |
| Milton Keynes | £14,036 | 44 mins |
| Sittingbourne | £14,112 | 59 mins |
| Luton | £14,325 | 32 mins |
| Chatham | £14,559 | 43 mins |
| Folkestone | £14,579 | 57 mins |
Annual mortgage costs for all commuter towns was similar ranging from the lowest £8,141 per year for Manningtree to the highest £9,436 for Milton Keynes.
House prices in these towns are likely to rise to the benefit of existing homeowners allowing the equity release mortgage buyers to access wealth from their homes to repay an interest only mortgage or help your children start or expand a business.
For remortgage buyers higher property values give them an opportunity to release capital which they can use to improve their home.
Manchester is the cheapest commute
In the report commuting to the city of Manchester offers the cheapest combined cost for mortgage and season tickets with Burnley top costing only £4,923 per year and 45 minutes.If you are a first time buyer and priced out of the main cities, you can consider buying a lower priced property in a commuter town and travelling by train.
The following table from Zoopla shows combined annual mortgage and season ticket costing in 2019 and fastest rail journey times to Manchester in minutes.
| Town | Combined cost | Train to London |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley | £4,923 | 45 mins |
| Rochdale | £5,588 | 15 mins |
| Accrington | £5,596 | 57 mins |
| Blackburn | £5,836 | 50 mins |
| St Helens | £6,196 | 49 mins |
With higher house prices in main cities, buy-to-let landlords will look to commuter towns for affordable properties to help improve rental yields.
Outside of London, Zoopla found the most expensive commuter town to Bristol was Bath Spa costing £13,536 a year and travel time of 14 minutes.
Commuting to Birmingham, the town of Warwick costs the most at £14,122 a year taking 24 minutes and for Manchester the town of Altrincham costs £10,519 with a travel time of 27 minutes.
For Edinburgh in Scotland, Delmeny is the most expensive commuter town at £10,366 with travel time of 20 minutes.
What are your next steps?
Speak to our LCM mortgage advisers if you are planning to move home, buying your first home, remortgaging your existing home to a new cost effective mortgage deal or are a buy-to-let investor.For equity release buyers our London City Mortgage brokers can recommend lifetime mortgages allowing you to receive cash from your property to help maintain your standard of living as costs rise or gift to a family member or friend.
Learn more by using the mortgage cost calculators, equity release mortgage calculator and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.
Mortgage Best Buys
These are examples of mortgage products we can approach with many more offering interest rates and flexibility to meet your needs.
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| 1.16% Fixed Rate |
| 60% Loan to Value |
| £1,525 App Fee |
| Until 01/11/2022 |
| Reverts to 4.09% |
 |
| 1.17% Fixed Rate |
| 60% Loan to Value |
| £1,025 App Fee |
| Until 31/09/2022 |
| Reverts to 3.59% |
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| 1.19% Fixed Rate |
| 60% Loan to Value |
| £999 App Fee |
| 2-Years Time |
| Reverts to 3.59% |
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| 1.18% Fixed Rate |
| 60% Loan to Value |
| £1,034 App Fee |
| Until 31/10/2022 |
| Reverts to 3.59% |
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Equity Release may involve a Lifetime Mortgage or a Home Reversion Scheme. To understand the features and risks, please ask for a personalised illustration. Equity Release may affect your entitlement to means tested state benefits and will impact on the size of your estate. For Equity Release London City Mortgages charge a fixed fee upon completion of £695. For Mortgages a fixed fee is charged on application. Typically this is from £295 up to £495 for the services selected.
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