Living outside of London and commuting for an hour to work could save homeowners £450,000, according to a survey by Lloyds bank.
The survey compared the average prices of homes in London to those outside of the city.
Wellingborough topped the list as the most affordable commuter town with an average house price of £160,245 - this figure is 3.4 times the average annual income of someone working in zones one and two in London.
Andrew Mason, Mortgages Director at Lloyds Bank, said: “It's no surprise, for London at least, that the further you commute the larger the difference in house prices, though, of course, the journey also gets longer and more expensive.”
“Quality of life is an important consideration and in nearly all towns in this survey housing affordability is significantly better with a London salary compared to what can be earned locally.”
The salary of workers who commute an hour into London is on average 22%, or £8,500 higher than what they would earn where they live.
However commutes have to consider the cost of travel, with an annual commute from Beaconsfield costing £3,788.
The situation is not the same in all of the UK’s major cities.
In Birmingham the average house price is £162,000 but in several of its surrounding areas, such as Walsall and Coventry, house hunters can expect to pay on average £175,000.
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