Properties are flooding the marketed in the southern commuter belt thanks to the stamp duty holiday. This is according to new data from biggest property Rightmove.
Hertford, Wickford, St. Albans and East Grinstead make up the top five, which are all within a 70-minute train commute of Central London.
Will this amount to cheaper prices? It seems unlikely.
Increased demand in these towns, measured by people phoning and emailing estate agents, is also massively outstripping the growth of available stock.
Demand has increased by at least 50 percent year-on-year in each of the top 10 locations, but available stock for sale is not matching this demand, meaning there is still an imbalance despite the new stock coming on.
Nationally, demand has risen by 61 percent compared to the same period last year.
Almost 94,000 new listings were brought to market across London, the South East and East of England between July 8 and August 16.
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This is over 31,000 more than the same period in 2019.
This latest data follows a Rightmove study from July which revealed that homes priced between £400,000 and £500,000 in the southern commuter belt have an increased chance of selling as this is where buyers are set to make the biggest savings thanks to the stamp duty holiday.
Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “We always knew that the stamp duty holiday was going to be a big incentive for people to get moving this year.
“It’s certainly sparked a home-moving frenzy across commuter towns in the south of England.
“Thousands of sellers are being tempted to come to market in these areas for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, lots of buyers stand to make pretty sizeable savings thanks to the stamp duty holiday – particularly in the southern commuter belt – so now seems as good a time as any to press ahead with home-moving plans.
“We’re also seeing a growing trend of people looking to move out of urban areas and into smaller towns, with homeowners in built-up areas reassessing their housing needs and looking for places with more outside space.
“Lastly, proximity to a station doesn’t seem to be as important as it once was, meaning sellers in these commuter towns are looking to move a little further afield as working from home becomes a more permanent way of life.”
Stamp duty property sales boost – where to find a house for sale now top 10
- Harlow, Essex +121 percent
- Hertford, Hertfordshire +113 percent
- Wickford, Essex +105 percent
- St. Albans, Hertfordshire +100 percent
- East Grinstead, West Sussex +98 percent
- Basingstoke, Hampshire +96 percent
- Tonbridge, Kent +95 percent
- Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire +94 percent
- Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk +94 percent
- Wokingham, Berkshire +93 percent
Which are the cheapest commuter towns to buy in.
A report by property site Zoopla earlier this year discovered a total of 10 areas which would give city workers a good bang for their buck.
The cheapest areas to live outside of London include towns like Grays and Leagrave.
Also on the list are Crayford, Basildon and Harlow.