With London property prices sky-high, there is a growing trend of Londoners, particularly young families, moving out of the capital in order to get more property for their money.
Commuters travelling from Brentwood in Essex can now use Oyster Cards, which means that people travelling into London can now use the swipe card, which acts as a travelcard for all public transport in the capital. This means that they do not have to buy a separate ticket before being able to use Oyster services, reducing the cost of commuting to work in the capital. This is likely to help increase demand for homes in the area.
What's more, Brentwood is located along the £16bn Crossrail route, which could help boost property prices by up to 25% over the next 10 years, according to a study, carried out by property consultancy GVA for Crossrail.
The study found the rail link, from Maidenhead in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, could add £5.5bn to property values by 2021.
Other owns at either end of Crossrail, in Berkshire and Essex, such as Maidenhead, Taplow and Harold Wood could also expect to see property prices increase sharply, the study showed.
New homes in Essex for sale
If you are thinking of buying a new home in Essex, you may wish to check out Persimmon Homes'Neave Place in Noak Hill, Romford. The development features a range of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments for sale, with prices starting from £170,000.
In Basildon, Lovell is developing a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments at Brookmead. New homes in the scheme are available from £122,000.
Wherever you should choose to buy a new home in Essex, there are a wide range of properties listed for sale on WhatHouse.co.uk.