ED PHILLIPS
CHIEF SALES OFFICER - LETTINGS
WHY DO
PEOPLE MOVE?
London's residential areas are
ever-expanding, and with this
expansion comes new and exciting
opportunities for Londoners to
change locations and lifestyles.
Lifestyles and life stages
Commuting remains a big issue for
Londoners - no surprises, there. The
combination of commuting time,
the travel experience, and of course
the cost, all add up to what can be a
less than pleasant experience. That
said, there are people who genuinely
value the time ring-fenced for reading
or catching up on emails. With a
growing focus on wellbeing,
commuters are increasingly cycling,
running or walking to work, and we
find more and more people putting
carbon-free commuting at the top of
their property wish list.
Love it or hate it, there is a clear
correlation between commuting times
and house prices - the longer the
commute, the more space you can get
for your money. The Mayor has some
hard evidence of people making that
choice - the 'Travel in London' report
found that 'net commuting inflow to
London has risen more steeply than
the number of jobs'.
Although people are willing to travel
for their perfect property, we have
found that there is a 'sweet spot' of
45 minutes for the price and travel
trade-off. After 45 minutes,
commuters fail to see the benefit
of a more affordable property in
light of the extent of their commute.
Our teams will always work towards
finding the optimum balance between
all the key features of someone's
property search.
Of course, tenants have the flexibility
to try out new areas and move on if
they don't work out, so they tend to be
more open to considering living in new
areas. In the latest Foxtons tenant
survey, 39% of respondents chose to
rent because they 'enjoyed the
flexibility and it suited their lifestyle'.
These are people with choices about
where and how they live, and they are
enjoying more options than ever that
cater for their property and commuter
needs. With the increasing quality and
variety of new developments
surrounding transport hubs in outer
London, this price and travel trade-off
is becoming easier to cater for.
Lewisham
Bakerloo line extension
Tottenham Hale
Crossrail 2
Old Oak Common
Interchange hub for HS2
The proposed Bakerloo
line extension could
reduce journey time to
central London by nine
minutes, with potential
uplift in average prices
of 21%.
Prices in Tottenham Hale
are currently 37% more
affordable compared to
other areas of London
with a similar commute
time into central London.
Crossrail 2 should bring new
demand to this currently
overlooked area of London.
Already providing superb
transport interchange for a
variety of commuting routes
across London, Old Oak
Common will almost certainly
see an uplift when the
Elizabeth Line further
connects this area to
central London. We see a
potential increase of average
prices in the surrounding area
of 56%.
FUTURE
HOT
SPOTS?
dataloft,
Land Registry
Source: dataloft,
Land Registry
The London Report | The price/travel trade-off 9