In our series on finding property hotspots, we looked at the benefits of investing in property near improved transport links, amongst other factors. Areas on existing commuter routes have long been recognised as being popular places to live but, not surprisingly, properties in such areas often come at a premium.

There were two interesting articles in the Telegraph last week touching on new research carried about Savills. They’ve been analysing the habits of commuters over the last three years and have found that the 60-minute commuter belt is now fully saturated, but that more people are commuting on a part-time basis and are happy to live a bit further away from their work.

Property prices go hand-in-hand with the length of the commute, with a 100-120 minute commuter belt journey working out the most affordable in terms of property price.

In a bid to find some of the less well known property favourites on the commuter belts around London, Savills identified small country railway stations and looked at those where 60% or more of the journeys were made by season ticket holders. There’s an interesting top 10 of places on the list in this article in the Telegraph, ranging from number 1, Dunton Green in Kent being a 41 minute journey, to number 10, Pluckley in Kent being a 75 minute commuter journey.

Although they don’t go into any more details of numbers 11 to 25, these are likely to be the areas where the journey is slightly longer and the average house price is lower. If you’re interested in exploring the potential of buying property in lesser known commuter zones, then this could be a good starting point for your research.

You could also apply the same idea to help you look for potential property hotspots in other areas of the UK that may be popular with commuters. Even if you still can’t quite stretch to afford an investment property in the centre of these towns and villages, properties in nearby areas may also have benefits for tenants wishing to be within commutable distance from their work.

For reference, the areas listed from 11 to 25 on the Savills lesser known commuter belt list near London are as follows:

11 Eynsford, Kent
12 Dormans, Surrey
13 Newport, Essex
14 Mistley, Essex
15 Ashwell & Morden, Hertfordshire
16 Crowhurst, East Sussex
17 Alresford, Essex
18 Shawford, Hampshire
19 Salfords, Surrey
20 Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex
21 Cressing, Essex
22 Ockley, Surrey
23 Warnham, West Sussex
24 Eridge, East Sussex
25 Crowborough, East Sussex

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