Is Bexley the Place to Be for London Commuter-Tenants?

Property website OnTheMarket.com has released data showing that of all the ways to rent in London, living as a group of four in Bexley is the cheapest.

The data assumes the scenario that this situation involves one person per bedroom. It has then used averaged private rental prices in order to determine whether one, two, three or four bedroom properties provide the best value in each London borough.

Looking at a four-bedroom property in Bexley, tenants would be paying a monthly rent price of £1,633.52. However, if this were to be split between four people, they would be paying £408.38 each. The average cost of renting a room in London is £629 per month, according to the Government’s April 2017 – March 2018 Private Rental Market Summary Statistics.This means that it is 35% cheaper to rent in Bexley.

Other benefits of this borough include travel. Bexley station is situated in Travelcard zone six, which is only about 14 miles away from London Charing Cross station. This means a journey time of 38 minutes when travelling by a Southeastern train. Looking at the costs, a daily return journey would be as much as £6.23 or £62.30 for a weekly season ticket. A monthly season ticket would cost £239.30.

Take a look at the below ‘best value’ table to see the cheapest scenarios in each area of London. It shows that Bexley is the cheapest borough for each scenario, assuming that the living situation is one person per bedroom.

Contrastingly, the ‘most expensive’ table reveals the most costly scenarios in each borough of London. This again assumes one person per bedroom.

Unsurprisingly, the boroughs with the highest rents are within Central London.

Views from estate agents

Helen Whiteley, Commercial Director at OnTheMarket.com commented: “The data shows that at a time when tenants in the capital are becoming increasingly stretched, they can potentially reduce their overall rental outgoings by examining different cost scenarios based on the number of flatmates. The findings also highlight that considering moving to a different borough can save notable amounts of money for the difference of just a few miles.”

Charlie Benn, Director of Lettings at Anthony Martin estate agents in Bexley has said:“We often see people relocating from price inflated areas within South East London to much more affordable Bexley postcodes.

“With a journey time into central London falling within 45 minutes to an hour, at a time when two hour commutes are on the rise, it proves ideal for city workers. Bexley is also within an easy commute to the highly anticipated Crossrail Link (at Abbey Wood), which is due to open in December 2018, providing more time saving commutes.

“The suburban area of Bexley provides the best of both worlds with its close proximity to excellent schools, green spaces and affordable prices while also within driving reach of places such as Bluewater Shopping Centre and the centre of London under an hour away.”

Jake Blackman, Branch Manager, Acorn, Bexleyheath, commented: “This research confirms what we’ve long predicted – that Bexley Borough is going to be in high demand for the next few years. It’s one of the reasons we’re opening two more offices in the borough (Sidcup and Blackfen), in addition to our existing ones in Bexleyheath and Welling.

“With the introduction of Crossrail into the area, improving the already vast transport links into the city, and the plethora of good schools and entertainment options, Bexley has proved to be a hotspot for those moving out of the humdrum of city life.

“This is mainly due to Bexley still being very much an affordable place to rent. In addition, there aren’t many boroughs that can offer the diverse entertainment and shopping facilities of Bexley. These include the Broadway Shopping Centre in Bexleyheath which has modern shops and food chains, complemented by Bexley Village which has a more alternative array of independent restaurants, boutique shops and bars.”