A recent study published by Lloyd’s Bank has revealed that if homeowners are willing to commute sixty minutes into London, house prices can be reduced by as much as 60%, with an average saving of £500,000. Amazingly, commuters with a journey time of twenty minutes into London can save, on average, £295,000 on the price of their property.
Many buyers are discovering David Wilson Homes’ Cane Hill Park development in Coulsdon, Greater London, which offers large family homes within close proximity to the city.
The David Wilson Homes development is part of a wider housing scheme that sits on the site of the former Cane Hill hospital, which opened in the 1880s. The hospital treated a number of patients with a celebrity connection, including Charlie Chaplin’s mother, Michael Caine’s half-brother and David Bowie’s stepbrother. The hospital was closed in the 1990s and largely destroyed by fire in 2010, with the 205-acre site remaining unused until investment from a collection of housebuilders.
Upsizing within the commuter belt
One couple, Antony Berry, 32, and his partner Liz, 30, were looking to upsize into a family home, yet needed to remain in the commuter belt as they both work in the city. They decided to make the move from their two-bedroom flat in Carshalton to a four-bedroom family home at Cane Hill Park.
Antony and Liz had lived in their new build flat in Carshalton for four years and enjoyed the convenience of being well-connected to London. However, with a new baby on the way, and Antony’s six-year-old son needing his own room too, the couple began their search for a suitable family home. When they discovered Cane Hill Park, they were drawn to the countryside lifestyle on offer without compromising on connections into the city.
Antony, Head of Philanthropy at the Museum of London, comments: “Our flat was a brilliant starter property, but it wasn’t big enough to be our forever home. With our new baby due, we knew that the time was right to upsize into a family sized house. When we found out about Cane Hill Park, we knew straightaway that this was the perfect place to raise our family. We now have a lot more space inside, and a big garden to enjoy.
“As our previous home was a new build, we enjoyed the benefits that came with this, such as lower maintenance costs and being cheaper to run, so knew that we wanted another new home as we climbed up the property ladder. We were drawn to Cane Hill Park as, despite it being brand new, it has an interesting historical connection due to its previous use, which we found really appealing.”
With plenty of green space and set away from the hustle and bustle of the town, the couple are enjoying the lifestyle on offer at the development. What’s more, despite moving from Zone 5 to Zone 6, Antony and Liz can enjoy a significantly shorter commute into the city, with a journey time of under 30 minutes for Antony and Liz.
Antony continues: “It’s fantastic that we have found such a peaceful development so close to London. The development is ideal for families with young children wanting to explore or play, and we feel really happy that we can bring up the children here. All of our neighbours are really friendly and there is a brilliant community spirit throughout.”
Ideal for night workers
Ben Eddon-Carruthers, who works as a stage manager in the West End and regularly works into the early hours, has just bought a three-bedroom townhouse with his husband Hugh at Cane Hill Park. The development is situated just a two-minute walk away from Coulsdon South train station, where trains take less than 30 minutes from central London and run until late at night, with a non-stop service also operating every few minutes to nearby East Croydon and the Tramlink service available too.
Ben, 29, comments: "I regularly have to travel home late at night after the show finishes so having a safe and convenient train service that runs until the early hours on the doorstep was a no brainer for me. We were living at New South Quarter, a Barratt London development on the Purley Way in Croydon before, where the tram stopped right in the middle of the development, but we wanted to upsize to a property with more space. Despite being further out, transport links in Coulsdon are still excellent because of the non-stop service to East Croydon, which takes less than 15 minutes from central London and I can either get a connecting train, jump in a taxi or Hugh picks me up from there.
Ben continues: “We started off living in London 10 years ago and were renting Hugh's parents flat in Fulham. We were keen to buy as quickly as possible as prices kept on going up but knew that we wouldn't be able to afford to buy so centrally. After a few visits, we decided to buy a one-bedroom flat at New South Quarter and in the space of three years we have made over £100k profit on it. We could see the potential that Croydon had to offer with the new Box Park that opened 18 months ago and Westfield Shopping Centre also on its way. We are confident that buying again within the borough, will offer us the same investment potential.
Hugh, 31, an accountant who works in Hammersmith, comments: “We bought our house at Cane Hill Park for £562,000 using the government-backed Help to Buy London. We used Help to Buy to buy our first flat too; we would never have had the capital to buy otherwise. The scheme is so easy, and we still made a fantastic profit on our first home. We expect to be here for around five years before we look at moving out of London – we hope to open our own B&B in Scotland one day!"
Ben concludes: “Coulsdon is a lovely town and the development is set in a fantastic position. It doesn’t feel like a new development because there are so many trees from when it used to be a hospital, so it already feels really established. Our property is a three-bedroom house and we love having the entire top floor dedicated to our master bedroom suite, as well as each having our own bathroom.”
Prices for the final phase of four- and five-bedroom houses from David Wilson Homes start at £587,995. Help to Buy London and Part Exchange are available on selected plots. For further information, or to book an appointment to view the show home, call 0333 355 8503.
Find out more about Cane Hill Park from David Wilson Homes