Leading financial price comparison expert, NerdWallet has identified Thornton Heath and Woolwich as commuter destinations around London that are set to grow in popularity in the years ahead thanks to the rise in remote and hybrid working.
With many Britons now spending fewer days in the workplace and commuting less frequently, many are identifying benefits to living further afield.
To serve this audience, NerdWallet developed Map My Commute – a pioneering interactive tool that helps potential movers discover all the locations within their preferred commute time and/or property budget.
Using search results from Map My Commute, NerdWallet pinpointed the locations that could become prime destinations for home buyers willing to expand their commutes in order to land their dream property.
“Our recent study revealed that 9 in 10 hybrid workers would now be willing to commute further to buy or rent their desired property or live in their preferred location,” says Richard Eagling, senior personal finance expert at NerdWallet. “The same study discovered that over a quarter of British workers open to a longer commute would travel up to 45 minutes further in exchange for their ideal home or location.”
For first-time buyers looking to settle in London, nearby Thornton Heath could continue to be a popular location, as the commute takes 40 minutes by train to Liverpool Street Station and an average two-bedroom semi-detached house costs £382,900. This is a lot less than the average property price in the centre of London, such as Vauxhall where the average property price is upwards of one million pounds.
Existing property owners in London who are looking to upsize, for example, could turn to places like Woolwich. The commute is an average 35 minutes by train to Liverpool Street Station and the average 3-bedroom detached property costs £542,855.
Before the pandemic, the average commute to and from work came to 59 minutes total.** The results of NerdWallet’s survey suggest this could rise to 2 hours 29 minutes for a significant number of Britain’s workers.
Eagling adds: “This widening of the commuter belt opens up new possibilities for today’s homebuyers and renters. It also has the potential to create these new commuter hotspots, invigorating locations such as Thornton Heath and Woolwich in the process.”
NerdWallet’s new Map My Commute interactive tool helps homebuyers discover all of the locations where they can afford to buy or rent a property based on their budget and ideal commute time.