Economic downturn prompts 'green shift'

Housebuyers that have been priced out of the London property market are moving to leafier commuter towns, according to latest reports.

London Estate Agents have said that increasing numbers of buyers are choosing to sell up or are looking at property to rent in London, reports the Financial Times.

Tunbridge Wells in Kent has now topped the list of favoured destinations for those moving out of the capital.

However, after a delay of six months, commuter towns such as Guildford and Tunbridge Wells are now seeing falling house prices, meaning that more people are turning to renting in the insecure market.

"Vendors in London were very quick to respond to the faltering housing market, and price accordingly," Marc Goldberg, head of residential sales at Hamptons, told the newspaper.

"But there has been a delayed reaction in towns close to London, with sellers unwilling to accept the economic realities," he added.

In the past three months, prices in Tunbridge Wells have fallen by 8.1 per cent, while in London they rose 4.6 per cent.

Average house prices in Tunbridge Wells are around £150,000 lower than those of central North London boroughs, such as Islington.

Published 18th August, 2008

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