Cost effective? Where does Harpenden, Radlett and St Albans fit on the list of London’s 73 best commuter towns?

St Albans is at number 53 on the list, the travel time only 19 minutes with a commuter cost of £22,248 (Image: Archant)

Property group CBRE have categorised 73 towns and villages based on the percentage of the population that commute from there every day (in excess of 10 percent).

In the interest of discovering the ones that are the best in terms of value for money, the report has calculated the average annual travel costs into London and the average mortgage repayment sums to achieve a combined annual commuter figure.

The report might perhaps be an eye-opener to the set of narrow-minded Londoners who think that life outside of the Capital simply doesn’t exist, or that its just not feasible, if you have a London-based job, to live out of the city. Yet average commute time from the variety of locations on the list has been computed as 35 minutes - less than the time it takes many Londoners to get to work each morning from one part of the Capital to another.

Jennet Siebrits, head of residential research at CBRE, said: “While London maintains its wide-spread appeal and attracts an ever increasing population, the lure of the suburbs remains strong…many of these buyers are recognising the value opportunities in moving slightly further afield from these increasingly popular locations.”

Harpenden doesnt come out of the survey too well... (Image: Archant)

Where do St Albans, Radlett and Harpenden feature?

Coming in third place is Harpenden. Only making it to the 70th best location out of 73 for cost-effective commuting, it’s the average house price that sends it so far down the list. A property, on average, would be valued at £734,722, with a commute journey of 25 minutes, bringing the average commuter cost to £35,748 p/a. That’s a hefty train bill!

Second place, at 69/73, is Radlett, just a few rungs down the ladder. Despite being geographically closer to the Capital, the train journey is a little more complex, meaning it takes the longest to get in, at 27 minutes. The average house price in Radlett is £679,073, with a combined commuter calculation of £32,128.

In first place, and in a much better position on the list, comes St Albans. Sitting at number 53, the travel time is only 19 minutes with a commuter cost of £22,248. The average house price is listed at a much lower £424,649, making this the most cost-effective commuter town in the belt, as recognised by this study, out of these three Herts locations.

In 34th place, the most cost-effective Hertfordshire commuter town across this particular county is Hitchin, followed closely by Watford Junction and Hertford. However, nothing surpasses Harpenden, beaten only by Esher in Surrey, then Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield (both in Buckinghamshire).