House price hotspots among commuter towns revealed

Swanley in Kent, Dursley near Bristol and Bromsgrove in the Midlands have been identified as house price hotspots in a study of commuter towns.

Property website Zoopla made the findings after analysing towns within an hour's commute of 10 cities.

Areas clustered around London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool and Nottingham were looked at for annual house price growth.

Zoopla identified Swanley as the best house price performer in the study, with prices increasing by 10.78% or £36,484 over the past year.

It said that, based on this typical growth rate, the rising value of a commuter's home in Swanley could effectively offset the cost of a £2,500 annual London rail fare in less than a month.

Dursley on the outskirts of Bristol was placed second, with price growth of 9.71% or £26,339 over the past year.

Bromsgrove, which is within reach of Birmingham city centre, was third, with 9.61% growth in property prices over the past 12 months.

It was followed by Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, a popular area with London commuters, which has seen a house price rise of 9.18% over the past 12 months.

Commuter towns within easy reach of Leeds have also seen some relatively strong house price growth.

Homes in Ilkley have risen by 8.52% over the past year and home owners in Bingley have seen values increase by 7.91%.

But not all commuter towns have seen a general growth in property values over the past year.

At the other end of the spectrum, Burton-On-Trent in Staffordshire, Walton-On-Thames in Surrey and Bushey in Hertfordshire had the weakest growth in property values in the study, with annual falls of 5.21%, 4.99% and 4.9% respectively.

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said: "An easy commute into the office is often very near the top of the property wish list for those looking to move home, and these figures show just how valuable it can be to live within easy reach of a city centre."

Here are the top 10 commuter towns for house price growth in Zoopla's study, with the major city nearby, the average house price and the annual growth rate:

1. Swanley, London, £375,066, 10.78%
2. Dursley, Bristol, £297,581, 9.71%
3. Bromsgrove, Birmingham, £301,384, 9.61%
4. Berkhamsted, London, £724,194, 9.18%
5. Blaydon-On-Tyne, Newcastle, £150,377, 9.09%
6. Belper, Nottingham, £252,308, 8.94%
7. Ilkley, Leeds, £404,994, 8.52%
8. Atherstone, Birmingham, £236,734, 8.26%
9. Warwick, Birmingham, £383,488, 8.18%
10. Bingley, Leeds, £231,536, 7.91%

And here are the bottom 10 towns in Zoopla's study, with the major city nearby, the average house price and the annual growth rate:

1. Burton-On-Trent, Birmingham, £206,843, minus 5.21%
2. Walton-On-Thames, London, £630,468, minus 4.99%
3. Bushey, London, £610,846, minus 4.9%
4. Weybridge, London, £914,740, minus 4.79%
5. Pontefract, Leeds, £154,844, minus 2.25%
6. Knottingley, Leeds, £136,860, minus 2.13%
7. South Ockendon, London, £284,173, minus 1.94%
8. Frodsham, Manchester, £299,649, minus 1.65%
9. Welwyn, London, £760,962, minus 1.53%
10. Wokingham, London, £523,026, minus 1.49%

Here are the best-performing commuter towns for annual house price growth in the cities analysed by Zoopla, with the average house price there and the annual percentage increase:

London, Swanley, £375,066, 10.78%
Birmingham, Bromsgrove , £301,384, 9.61%
Leeds, Ilkley, £404,994, 8.52%
Manchester, Stockport, £262,167, 7.03%
Bristol, Tewkesbury, £299,777, 9.94%
Edinburgh, Bellshill, £109,654, 7.31%
Newcastle, Blaydon-On-Tyne, £150,377, 9.09%
Sheffield, Dronfield, £254,577, 7.48%
Liverpool, Ormskirk, £272,814, 5.43%
Nottingham, Belper, £252,308, 8.94%