Chatham is best value for London commute

A survey by estate agents Haart, finds Chatham is the best value place to buy, in terms of commuting into the country's capital.

Chatham has an average house price of £144,100 and a 40 minute journey time into London with a relatively good value season ticket available. It is also benefiting from a £97 million government-funded Thames Gateway regeneration scheme to build 200,000 homes and create 150,000 jobs.

Towns between 20 minutes and one hour away from central London were considered in the report, with a final figure based on average property prices, time and travel costs combined.

Chatham's total commuter cost was £246,500, £20,300 ahead of next closest town, Slough. Also in the top five were Stevenage (£282,700), Redhill (£303,400) and Surbiton (£315,528).

With continued rising property prices, many more workers are finding that they have to buy outside of London, but the cost of commuting and time taken in getting to work are factors that need to be considered. Russell Jervis, managing director of Haart estate agents says "This model identifies the most affordable areas in and around London with a ‘commuter cost weighting’ to help potential buyers make their decision."