Beautiful south: south Londoners leaving the city should pick from these top towns
New research on the destinations favoured by exiting south Londoners found that Sevenoaks in Kent is the number one choice, largely for its 25-minute commute.
Well over a third of homes sold in the affluent market town over the past year went to buyers from “S” postcodes, says Hamptons International. They spend an average £510,000 for a slice of Sevenoaks’s pretty high street and fabulous schools.
The Surrey commuter town of Reigate is also a favourite, with some 29 per cent of homes sold to south Londoners, who pay an average £537,800. Other top choices discovered in Hamptons’ survey include Gravesham in Kent, which includes Gravesend and surrounding villages and is a more affordable option, with an average price of £325,600.
SEVENOAKS
Key to Sevenoaks’s popularity are the quick commute to London — the annual season ticket costs £3,424 — the grammar schools, easy access to the Kent Downs, and low crime, says William Bankes, associate director at Humberts estate agents.
There are also plenty of good restaurants and pubs, while the High Street has a full complement of coffee shops and has recently been boosted by a flagship Marks & Spencer.
Most buyers, says Bankes, want to be within a mile of the station, and within that radius there is a huge range of homes to choose from. A big trophy house in a private road could cost about £2 million, but the starter option would be a two-bedroom Victorian cottage for £375,000 to £400,000.
Buyers with young children settle in Sevenoaks more easily, with its local “mums’ network”, and they soon make friends, but the child-free seem to have more trouble getting used to a provincial life, says Bankes.
REIGATE
Almost as popular with London leavers as Sevenoaks, Reigate is nevertheless a slightly different animal. “We are much smaller than Sevenoaks, and that is what I think is appealing,” says Alan King, director at Jackson-Stops & Staff. “I think families move here and tell their friends and it is like a conveyor belt of like-minded people gathering together.”
Reigate is great for outdoor types who can play tennis at Priory Park, enjoy a round of golf on Reigate Heath, or walk on the North Downs. Schools are good — St Bede’s in neighbouring Redhill is where most parents set their hearts.
Commuters, however, tend to bypass the slower services from Reigate and go to Redhill, where trains to Victoria take from 31 minutes. Travel costs off Kent’s high-speed rail link are lower, too, with an annual season ticket from £2,760. This saving will be necessary since property in Redhill isn’t cheap. A four-bedroom Victorian house near the town centre will cost about £875,000, while a large Twenties family house a little further out will set you back about £1.25 million. With a budget of £500,000 you could pick up a pretty, but compact, two-bedroom Victorian cottage.
GRAVESEND
This ticks nearly every box, but the High Street shops are depressing. It is in Kent and has great grammar schools; it’s a 24-minute commute to St Pancras International — annual season ticket from £3,388 — and the housing stock is high quality and affordable.
Charlie Croft, director of Walker Croft estate agents, says about half her buyers are young families priced out of London, and looking for a flat or character house within a walk of the station.
Windmill Hill, just south of the station, has lovely big Victorian townhouses. A five- to six-bedroom house would cost about £550,000. Something similar in Islington would easily be £5.5 million.
Singlewell, about two-and-a-half miles from the town centre, is a more budget-friendly option. Its streets of Thirties terraces and Victorian semis are popular with incomers and a three-bedroom property would cost between £300,000 and £325,000.
Gravesend town centre is stuffed with pound shops and budget chains; nearby Bluewater shopping centre attracts all the business. Rochester is close, with a cuter range of shops and cafés. Nightlife is found in some nice local restaurants and pubs around Windmill Hill.
JUST A BIT FURTHER
Of the 10 most popular destinations for south Londoners, only two are beyond Kent and Surrey.
Just over one in 10 buyers in both Crawley and Mid Sussex — covering commuter towns such as Haywards Heath — hail from south of the river.
Mid Sussex does not have a large proportion of Londoners because it’s near expensive Brighton, which has driven house prices up 21 per cent in the last year, and 58 per cent since 2007, to an average £523,400.
Top spots for south London leavers
|
Destination |
Sales to south Londoners |
Average price of a house |
12-month price growth |
Price growth since 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sevenoaks | 34% | £510,100 | 3% | 32% |
| Reigate | 29% | £537,800 | 4% | 40% |
| Gravesham | 27% | £325,600 | 7% | 43% |
| Guildford | 22% | £580,540 | 3% | 45% |
| Medway | 19% | £260,200 | 14% | 40% |