In an article titled, ‘Beat the rail fare rises by moving farther away’, The Times Bricks & Mortar section (article may be subscription only access). explores how recent rail fare rises might impact on commuters and on country property prices.
‘A small move away from established commuter zones can save you money and offers a potential way of beating the rail fare rises’, says The Times article, while Middleton’s Tom Hudson is quoted saying, “Ten years ago a country-home buyer would automatically buy a first-class season ticket to London. Now few people commute full-time,” says Tom Hudson, the head of country house search for Middleton Advisors, a buying agency. “People balance the pain and cost of commuting with the efficiency of working from home. People are happy to move farther out if they have good connections — with broadband and phone signal as important as transport connections.”
But, according to The Times, the high costs of commuting have caused an increasing number of people to move from the commuter belt back into London, and with prices dropping off in the capital in the last year, the equation between house price and train fares has shifted significantly for those who need to be in their London office every day of the week.