The end of the line is not such a bad place to be, according to new research which puts Watford as the most in-demand tube stop for house buyers.
Online estate agent eMoov.co.uk found the town has the most popular Underground station out of the 280 for property hunters, despite it being in zone 7 and its imminent closure when the Croxley Rail Link is eventaully built.
Croxley Underground sneaked in at number eight, with Bond Street coming out as the least popular, where demand was just 13 per cent.
Russell Quirk, founder and chief executive of eMoov said: "It is ironic perhaps that the hottest station on the London Underground network where property demand is concerned, is in fact outside of the capital.
"We have highlighted through our research the real decline of the central London market and the increasing popularity of surrounding commuter zones for quite some time now.
"Watford is booming in terms of development with the improvement of the shopping centre, the abundance of well-known restaurants at the bottom of town, the new cinema complex coming to Charter Place and even Harry Potter world out in Leavesden.
"There’s plenty on offer for potential buyers and not just a convenient commute to London, so we can’t see demand dropping any time soon."
The Central Line was the most popular line, with demand for property along it at 48 per cent, but the Jubilee Line saw the largest increase in demand in the past six months, up 18 per cent.
The least in-demand lines were the Circle, Northern and Victoria, all at 37 per cent.
Watford had a demand rating of 78 per cent, calculated by monitoring the number of properties listed against the number that have sold in a certain period.
The research by eMoov coincides with that by The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS), who found tenancy deposits in Watford were 50 per cent higher than the national average.
By law landlords must submit deposits from tenants to an authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme, and those submitted to The DPS for properties with Watford postcodes between July 2014 and June 2015 averaged £1,237.50.
This is £406.37 or 48.89 per cent more than the national average of £831.13.
Mike Cole at Imagine in Watford said the improvements in infrastructure mean that property in Watford is more in demand.
He said: "Watford has had a lot of money ploughed into the infrastructure, which makes a difference.
"We have two new stations, an improved shopping centre and a proposed overhaul of Watford Junction in our favour, in addition to the cross rail.
"Improving business parks also means more employment making this a better place to live for accessibility."
It’s not all good news for sellers, as many as a quarter of tube stops have seen demand for property surrounding the station drop.
Amongst the worst hit are Chorleywood, Northwood, and Rickmansworth have all fallen by seven per cent.
The top ten most in-demand tube stops:
Watford - Zone 7, Metropolitan Line
Eastcote - Zone 5, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
Ickenham - Zone 6, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
West Ruislip - Zone 6, Central Line
Ruislip - Zone 6, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
Ruislip Manor - Zone 6, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
Pinner - Zone 5, Metropolitan Line
Croxley - Zone 7, Metropolitan Line
Rayners lane - Zone 5, Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines
Hornchurch - Zone 6, District Line
The top ten least in demand tube stops:
Bond Street - Zone 1, Central and Jubilee Lines
Oxford Circus - Zone 1, Central, Victoria and Bakerloo Lines
Marble Arch - Zone 1, Central Line
Marylebone - Zone 1, Bakerloo Line
Baker Street - Zone 1 , Bakerloo, Circle, Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines
Knightsbridge - Zone 1, Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Circus - Zone 1, Bakerloo and Piccadilly Lines
Regents Park - Zone 1, Bakerloo Line
Green Park - Zone 1, Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria Lines
Hyde Park Corner - Zone 1, Piccadilly Line
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