Home sellers in popular commuter towns are having to accept their property may be worth up to £25,000 less than they were last year.Towns including Haywards Heath in West Sussex, Maidenhead in Berkshire and Bath in Somerset are among those to see the average newly listed asking price fall year-on-year.In Haywards Heath in West Sussex, the average asking price has dropped by 4.8 per cent from £484,527 to £461,066, representing a £23,461 fall compared to listings last year.In Maidenhead in Berkshire, the average newly listed asking price for homes there has fallen by £22,991 from £594,677 to £571,686.Home sellers are also having to lower their expectations in Bath where average new asking prices are down £19,903 and in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire where new listings are £12,735 lower than last year.However, there are also some commuter hotspots further north where the price of a home coming up for sale is very much on the up.
Pricing lower: In Maidenhead in Berkshire, the average newly listed asking prices has fallen £22,991 from £594,677 to £571,686Sellers in commuter towns around Glasgow and Manchester are tending to price well above where they were a year ago. Many of these locations offer easier access to a major city at a lower price point than commuter hotspots in the south.Average asking prices have generally been more subdued in the cities themselves than in many surrounding commuter areas.Falkirk in Stirlingshire, has the highest price growth of all commuter locations analysed with newly listed asking prices up 13.5 per cent compared to last year. The typical home there is being listed £21,825 higher than in 2025.Clark Gillespie, director at Forth and Clyde Property, says Falkirk is an attractive choice for buyers because it offers a combination of affordable prices and strong transport links.He says: 'With multiple train stations and easy access via the excellent motorway network to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling, it's a practical option for commuters who want to stay connected to major cities while getting more for their money.'The area is particularly popular with families thanks to its well-regarded schools, and many buyers see it as a place where they can put down long-term roots, even if their job circumstances change. 'That mix of value, convenience and lifestyle continues to drive strong demand across Falkirk and the wider central belt.'Rochdale near Manchester has also seen newly listed asking prices jump by almost £20,000 in a year. One outlier is Broxbourne in Hertfordshire where the average new home coming to market is a whopping £48,766 higher than a year ago at £654,263. Aside from that, Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, says the data highlights two very different stories playing out across some of Britain's commuter markets.
