The rise in remote and hybrid working means many Britons are spending fewer days commuting to and from the office. Is it time hybrid contractors started searching for a new place to live?
Because of this reduced travel time, many hybrid workers are considering the benefits of living further afield. A recent study revealed that nine in 10 hybrid workers (92%) would now be willing to commute further in order to buy or rent their desired property or live in their preferred location.
Since the study was published, Map My Commute – a new interactive tool for the home buyer who is willing to lengthen their commute to land their dream property has been launched by price comparison website NerdWallet.
The same study revealed that over a quarter (29%) of these workers would be willing to travel up to 45 minutes longer if it meant living in their ideal home or location. Given that the average pre-pandemic commute totalled 59 minutes to and from work, this could increase to 2 hours 29 minutes for this portion of home buyers.
How does Map My Commute help homebuyers?
Map My Commute helps potential movers discover all the locations within their preferred commute time and/or property budget.
Users start by entering their work postcode or the railway station nearest to their workplace. They then choose their desired commute time and whether they are looking to buy or rent. To complete their search, users select their budget and desired property type.
Based on this information, Map My Commute creates a bespoke map for each user showing every location where they could afford to buy or rent. This opens up new possibilities for those willing to broaden their property search if they work on a hybrid basis.
“The world of work has changed dramatically over the past 18 months or so since the start of the pandemic. Britons are now more accepting of a longer commute to secure the right property or location. We saw this as an opportunity to create a new interactive tool for the more flexible house hunter,” said Richard Eagling, Senior Personal Finance Expert at NerdWallet.
Eagling claims that Map My Commute is different from other property search tools because it allows users to find areas where the price of property matches their budget and desired commute time.
“Rather than just displaying the areas where property is available right now, Map My Commute shows users all the places they could potentially live. This opens up new options for home buyers as they conduct their property search and make plans for the future,” said Eagling.
More options, better value?
The majority of workers commute less than 45 minutes. But if you’re willing to travel a little further, the pool of potential locations expands considerably. Your property-buying options open up, too. Redhill, a popular commuter town for London workers is a good example. The journey into work takes half an hour, and the average cost of a home is £435k. Compare that to Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, where the commute is longer at 54 minutes, but property prices average just £230k.
The dreaded commute v. landing that dream home
Commuting experiences have a huge impact on interest in a new job as 34% of UK workers would ‘very likely’ turn down a job offer if the commute clashed with their needs.
More than half, or 54%, of workers in the UK, would quit their job because of their commute, according to a new report from Totaljobs.
A study of more than 2,000 showed that over 70% of workers have seen their employer mandate a return to the physical workplace. While 49% of UK workers looked forward to physically returning to their workplace, after months of building new and more flexible work habits, workers across the UK have reassessed their priorities, the study stated.
Among age groups, 70% of both Gen Z and Millennials across the UK said they are prepared to quit if their commute cannot fit their lifestyles.
Meanwhile, 76% of workers in London would quit a job because of their commute.
The duration of a commute was the top reason for many workers wanting to make a change (38%), more than both the cost of travel (29%) and the toll on the journey takes on their mental health (36%).