The Sunday Times 10 Hotspots in Britain for first-time buyers includes Dunstable. Something I have been pointing out for many months.

When the Sunday Times on the 17th April listed the 10 areas of Britain with the highest proportion of homes sold to first-timers who would have thought that Dunstable with no train station would be on that list ?

With its connection to Luton’s train station via the Busway, the improved links from the M1 with junction 11a due to open next year, large employers such as Signature Flatbreads and Amazon employing large numbers of staff and the affordability of housing to buy and to rent it is no surprise to those who have an eye on the local property market.

Many of my articles have pointed out how the buyers and renters in London and the surrounding town such as Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans have been looking to Dunstable to provide affordable housing.

Transactions for the previous 12 months by Countrywide, the largest estate-agency chain in the UK found that, last month, one in four sales was to a first-time buyer. These buyers are often looking at areas that are close to more expensive areas where they might have rented but cannot afford to buy.

Here is the list of the 10 areas of Britain with the highest proportion of homes sold to first-timers.

Hither Green, SE13

Silvertown, E16

Barmulloch, Glasgow

Harold Wood, RM3

Edinburgh EH4

Seven Kings, IG3

Birmingham B32

Dunstable, Bedfordshire

Barkingside, IG6

Ordsall, Salford