Should I buy a house near the station?

Everyone knows the value of having a home with easy access to good transport links, but many prospective purchasers are put off buying a house near a station because of the noise. "No need”, says Andrew Bush, Managing Director of Bush Property Services.

For many people, an ideal situation would be to reduce commuting time by living close to a station, but they may be put off by the thought that living close to a station might make the property tricky to sell. The reality, says Andrew Bush, is quite the opposite.

"Houses not far from stations hold their value extremely well and a village with a station in it will almost always command higher prices than one without.

"Ease of transport is the most obvious reason and that's particularly true now that people working in London are prepared to commute from further away. An hour in the train doesn't seem quite so bad if it's only a five minute walk to the station.

"Naturally, the closer the village is to London, the more expensive the property is likely to be, but you only have to look at places like Whittlesford, Shelford and Waterbeach to see that you don't have to live on the City's doorstep to have a station inflate your property's value.

"The 'London pick up' is particularly noticeable as more city bonuses are being spent on property in this part of the world. Last year's Channel 4 show The Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK put South Cambridgeshire fifth overall and other research shows that in 2006 20% of all Cambridge properties were bought by people working in the City.

"With the area seemingly proving irresistible to those working in London, the demand for property close to the station can only increase."