BASILDON has been named the commuter hot spot of the south east, new research has confirmed.

Property consultant CBRE has found the town offers the best value for money for property prices and rail fares.

They said with an average property costing only £163,121 and a monthly travel card coming in at £312.30, the average monthly costs of mortgage plus transport is £893.45.

Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, said it proves Basildon is a great place to live, work and do business.

He said: “Along with providing great value to homeowners, we also feel the town and the borough offers a lot more, including first-class leisure facilities, good shopping facilities, job prospects and a pleasant and green environment to live.”

Flats costing £165,000 at the new Gloucester Park development Acacia Park sold before they have even been built, with home buyers attracted to the developing area.

Jason Colmer, Barratt Homes sales and marketing director said: “We have experienced an increase of home buyers moving to Acacia Park from East London in the last six months.

“People are increasingly looking for comfortable homes of quality, within reach of the City, but without the City price tag.

“The development is convenient to local amenities, as well as road and rail travel into London in under less than 30 minutes.

“As a result, Acacia Park has sold homes faster than we anticipated.”

The next phase of the development, Gloucester Gate, which offers two, three and four bedroom homes and flats from £170,000, is already attracting lots of interest.

Malcolm Buckley, Basildon councillor responsible for regeneration, said: “Basildon offers good value for money and a good standard of living for people who choose to live in the borough.

“It’s excellent news and we hope with all the work we have in progress it will become even better.”