The post lockdown trend of more Londoners moving out of the city and into areas on the edges of the capital has led to the emergence of a new commuter belt, according to SevenCapital.

The property developer has carried out fresh research based on Land Registry house price transaction data with a view to analysing growing trends, and found the emergence of a second commuter belt.

Bracknell Forest, based on price, growth and distance from London, is proving particularly popular, with several major developers launching new developments recently.

Homeowners in Bracknell are likely to have seen the price of their property increase on average by almost £10,000 in the three months from March to June, the figures show.

Harlow, to the North East of London, is also attracting growing interest from Londoners. With a slightly lower price point than Bracknell, in monetary value the average property price here has increased by around £1,400 less than in Bracknell, however by percentage it has seen the highest increase of all areas researched.

St Albans, Sevenoaks, and Basingstoke, also rank highly.

The so-called ‘new commuter belt’:

Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital, said: “As a result of lockdown and a transition to working from home, we know we’ve had a London exodus with people favouring commuter areas on the outskirts. What we’ve seen is an increased focus on those commuter areas that are perhaps a little further out than people might have previously considered and certainly to those areas which are typically surrounded by greenery.

“The key reasons these areas have proven popular from the outset though are that each offers a lower cost of living; with the exception of St Albans the property is far more affordable than London and they all still offer a good connection into the capital for those times when a trip to the office is required.”

Not all areas in the South East saw such positive growth, and it was mainly towns at the higher end of the price scale which saw the biggest fall in prices.

Foote added: “It’s unfortunate to see which areas have taken a hit, however when you consider what the key trades are for those areas – universities in Oxford and Cambridge, airlines in Luton, its easy to see perhaps why they would logically take a hit. Once the industries recover however, I totally expect to see these negative figures reverse.”