Save £20k for just one extra minute commuting

Buyers can make massive savings if they look a few stops down the Tube line, reports Ruth Bloomfield

- Ruth Bloomfield

When Fabienne Dormeuil and her boyfriend Josh Palmer started house hunting they quickly realised their budget wouldn't go far in Clapham, where they had happily rented a two-bedroom flat for the past three years.

So the couple cast their net wider, looking at Balham, Tooting and Wandsworth. When they got to Colliers Wood, less than 10 minutes down the Northern line, they found their sweet spot of value for money, plus commutability and lifestyle. “We ended up in Colliers Wood because of cost and what we could get,” says Dormeuil. “I am really glad we did.”

Across London other buyers are making similar compromises in order to get more for their budget while still staying close to the neighbourhoods that feel like home. And, according to new research published today, the savings can add up to well over £20,000 for every extra minute spent on the Tube. Which should certainly make the commute feel a little less painful. According to the exclusive study by estate agent Hamptons, an average flat in Canary Wharf currently costs £687,000.

On the Isle of Dogs you could get an average flat for £432,000. That is a saving of £255,000 - more than £25,000 for each of the extra 10 minutes Transport for London estimates the Docklands Light Railway journey from Canary Wharf to Mudchute will take you.

Of course for City workers the arrival of the Elizabeth line has opened up new territories in west London. An average City flat will set you back a bumper £839,000. In Ealing Broadway a similar-sized home will cost an average £507,000. The commute to Liverpool Street takes some 22 minutes, and the average property saving works out at £15,000 per minute.

Buying agent Sara Ransom of Stacks Property Search believes the investment brought to Ealing by the Crossrail project has transformed W5, making it a popular option for buyers moving out of rentals in Fulham or Barons Court.