The more money you spend on your home, the more time you’ll spend in traffic

Research by the estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, reveals that locations of high value where property prices are concerned, more often than not, come with heavy traffic congestion in the immediate surrounding area.

In England, the average house price currently stands at £284,029 while the national average traffic delay on any given journey is 44 seconds per vehicle per mile. GetAgent’s research has used these national averages as a springboard to analyse the various areas of England and compare average house prices to average traffic delays. The overall finding is that the higher the average house price, the longer the average traffic delay in the surrounding area.

For example, London has the highest average house price in England, currently standing at £510,299. The capital also has the heaviest traffic, with each mile of a car-based journey coming with an average congestion delay of 110.3 seconds.

However, to truly understand the relationship between house prices and traffic congestion, it’s best to analyse the data on a national level. Using this methodology, GetAgent has been able to combine the average house prices for all locations around England where average traffic delays reach over 100 seconds per mile to reveal that locations with such a traffic delay have an average house price of £603,596.

As the traffic delay time decreases, so too does the average house price. The areas of England where traffic delays range between 80 – 99.9 seconds per minute have a combined average house price of £341,989, and areas with traffic delays of 60 – 79.9 seconds per mile have an average house price of £256,909.

This trend continues throughout the data. Average traffic delays of 40 – 59.9 seconds per mile bring an average house price of £237,784; delays of 20 – 39.9 seconds bring an average price of £234,423, and delays of 0 -19.9 seconds bring an average house price of £204,816.

This means that the more money someone spends on their home, the more time they are going to have to spend sitting in traffic.

This trend of high prices equaling heavy congestion is largely influenced by the fact that homes in cities tend to be more expensive, on average, than homes in rural areas. With city living, one may have to endure heavy traffic but will also have easy access to shops and amenities. Rural living, on the other hand, can offer lighter traffic and cheaper homes, but also increases the distance to shops, restaurants, and places of work which is why everyday congestion is much lower.

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“We’ve seen the desire for rural living rise during the past eighteen months as city living has increasingly fallen out of favour with homebuyers.

“While commentators have offered numerous reasons for this trend, from cheaper house prices to a desire for more outdoor space, this new finding about the relationship between congestion and house prices adds another possible motive for the city exodus.

“The fact that expensive city homes invite greater health risks might influence even more buyers to opt for the clean air, light traffic, and affordable homes of regional England.”