Asking prices dropping fastest in London commuter towns
The top 10 towns or cities with the largest percentage growth in price-reduced properties are all within an hour of central London by train - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Properties in London commuter towns have had the biggest increase in estate agents’ price cuts in the UK over the last six months, a new study has revealed.
Online estate agent HouseSimple.com found that the top 10 towns or cities with the largest percentage growth in price-reduced properties are all within an hour of central London by train, with Watford and Luton eighth and ninth on the list.
In Watford, the percentage of listings reduced in price was up by 10.6 per cent between February and August to 42 per cent, while in Luton this figure was up 10.5 per cent to 31.9 per cent.
Reading topped the list, with the percentage of price cut properties currently for sale almost double the level of six months ago at 44 per cent.
The likes of St Albans, Stevenage and Welwyn weren’t included in the sample.
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HouseSimple.com looked at the percentage of reduced price properties currently for sale in more than 100 towns and cities and compared them with data from six months ago.
Nationally, HouseSimple.com found that over a third of properties (33.5 per cent) currently for sale have been reduced in price since they were first marketed.
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Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “The London commuter belt has seen a property price boom over the past decade, as Londoners priced out of the capital’s property market have moved further out to take advantage of cheaper stock and excellent local amenities including highly rated state schools.
“As a result, the gap between property prices in many of the commuter towns and prices in central London has narrowed. Anyone looking in some of the most popular commuter towns, 30 minutes from London, may now find that properties aren’t any more affordable. That is putting pressure on local property markets, as buyers may be starting to look further afield for value for money.”
