Mortgage Advice in Hertfordshire: Towns, Property & Local Area Guides
Mortgage Advice in Hertfordshire: Towns, Property & Local Area Guides
Hertfordshire is one of England's most popular commuter counties — fast trains to London, strong schools and a mix of historic cathedral cities, garden cities and market towns. This hub links to our in-depth local guides and covers what buyers and homeowners across Hertfordshire actually want to know.
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Click any question to expand the full detail and sources.
Is Hertfordshire a good place to live?⌄
Yes — one of England's most popular commuter counties, with fast London trains, strong schools and varied towns and countryside.
Hertfordshire, immediately north of London, is consistently one of the most sought-after counties for commuters and families. It has around 1.24 million residents, four main rail corridors into central London, generally strong schools, and a striking variety of places to live — from the cathedral city of St Albans and the world's first garden cities at Letchworth and Welwyn, to market towns like Hitchin and Hertford and major centres like Watford and Stevenage. The trade-off is house prices above the national average, especially in the south and west of the county. Always research the specific town, road, school catchment and commute before deciding.
Sources: hertfordshire.gov.uk — county services | ons.gov.uk — population
Is Hertfordshire expensive?⌄
Above the national average — around £530,000 on average, with a wide spread from the cheaper north-east to pricey St Albans.
Over the most recent year the average sold price across Hertfordshire was around £530,000, with a county median nearer £446,000 — above the England average, and broadly flat to slightly down (around 2%) over the year. Prices vary widely by town: St Albans is among the priciest at around £633,000, while Stevenage, Cheshunt and parts of the north-east of the county are more accessible. Flats average around £301,000 and detached homes around £815,000 county-wide. Always verify current prices via Land Registry data or independent valuation advice.
Sources: landregistry.data.gov.uk | ons.gov.uk — local housing prices
Which Hertfordshire towns are best for commuting to London?⌄
St Albans, Watford, Stevenage, Hitchin and Hertford all offer fast trains into King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston or Liverpool Street.
Hertfordshire has four main rail routes into London. The Thameslink line serves St Albans and Harpenden into St Pancras; the West Coast Main Line serves Watford Junction, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring into Euston; the Great Northern route serves Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Potters Bar into King's Cross; and the West Anglia line serves Bishop's Stortford, Cheshunt and Broxbourne into Liverpool Street. Fast journeys range from around 20 minutes (St Albans, Stevenage) to 35–45 minutes from the county edges. Always check current times and works for your specific station.
Sources: nationalrail.co.uk | thameslinkrailway.com
Are schools good in Hertfordshire?⌄
Generally strong — mostly comprehensive, with some partially selective schools around Watford and several leading independents.
Hertfordshire is regarded as a strong county for schools, with many Ofsted Good and Outstanding state schools. Most of the county is non-selective (comprehensive), so admission is by catchment — though there are some partially selective schools, notably around Watford (such as the Watford Grammar Schools, Parmiter's and Queens'), which admit a proportion by aptitude or test. The county also has several well-known independent schools. Because most admission is by distance, the specific address matters a great deal. Ofsted reporting changed in September 2024, so always verify the latest inspection reports and admissions directly with the school and Hertfordshire County Council.
Sources: reports.ofsted.gov.uk | hertfordshire.gov.uk/school-admissions
Hertfordshire town & area guides
Our in-depth local guides cover property prices, schools, transport, neighbourhoods and what buyers should know in each Hertfordshire town. We're adding new guides regularly — live guides are linked below.
| Town | Known for | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| St Albans | Historic cathedral city, Roman Verulamium, ~20 min Thameslink to St Pancras. | Read the St Albans guide → |
| Watford | Major commercial centre, West Coast Main Line to Euston, partially selective schools. | Read the Watford guide → |
| Hemel Hempstead | New-town centre, Euston line, the Maylands business area and M1/M25 access. | Read the Hemel Hempstead guide → |
| Stevenage | Fast ~20 min trains to King's Cross, regeneration and good value. | Read the Stevenage guide → |
| Hertford | County town, market-town character, riverside, two stations to London. | Read the Hertford guide → |
| Bishop's Stortford | Market town near Stansted Airport, Liverpool Street line, strong schools. | Read the Bishop's Stortford guide → |
| Hitchin | Sought-after market town, Great Northern line to King's Cross. | Read the Hitchin guide → |
| Welwyn Garden City & Letchworth | The world's first garden cities, green and family-friendly. | Welwyn GC guide · Letchworth guide → |
| Berkhamsted & Tring | Affluent Chilterns towns on the Euston line, canal and countryside. | Read the Berkhamsted guide → |
| Cheshunt & Hoddesdon | Lea Valley towns, Liverpool Street line, more accessible prices. | Read the Cheshunt guide → |
| Rickmansworth | Affluent Three Rivers town, the Metropolitan line and Chiltern line, Aquadrome and Moor Park. | Read the Rickmansworth guide → |
| Hatfield | Post-war new town, East Coast line to King's Cross, Hatfield House and the University of Hertfordshire. | Read the Hatfield guide → |
| Harpenden | Prosperous commuter town, fast Thameslink to St Pancras, top schools and the Common. | Read the Harpenden guide → |
| Ware | Historic market town on the River Lea, Liverpool Street line, two Outstanding secondaries and great value. | Read the Ware guide → |
| Tring | Chilterns market town, Euston line, the Natural History Museum at Tring, canal and countryside. | Read the Tring guide → |
| Royston | Affordable far-north market town with a dual commute to both London and Cambridge, plus Royston Cave. | Read the Royston guide → |
| Sawbridgeworth | Affluent Georgian market town on the River Stort, Liverpool Street line and a Good-rated secondary. | Read the Sawbridgeworth guide → |
| Bushey | Leafy, affluent Hertsmere town on the London edge, fast Overground to Euston and strong schools. | Read the Bushey guide → |
| Borehamwood | Home of Elstree Studios, fast Thameslink to St Pancras and more accessible prices on the London fringe. | Read the Borehamwood guide → |
| Potters Bar | Leafy commuter town, fast King's Cross train and direct City line, plus the Outstanding Dame Alice Owen's School. | Read the Potters Bar guide → |
| Radlett | One of the county's most exclusive villages, fast Thameslink to St Pancras and top independent schools nearby. | Read the Radlett guide → |
| Hoddesdon | Historic Lea Valley market town, affordable, with the Lee Valley Park and a direct Liverpool Street line nearby. | Read the Hoddesdon guide → |
| Buntingford | Small historic rural town on the old Ermine Street — characterful and good value, but no railway station. | Read the Buntingford guide → |
| Baldock | One of England's oldest towns, Knights Templar roots, a King's Cross line and some of the county's best value. | Read the Baldock guide → |
| Kings Langley | Affluent canal-side village, fast Euston commute, the Ovaltine factory heritage and a medieval royal palace. | Read the Kings Langley guide → |
| Abbots Langley | Low-crime village near Watford, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour at Leavesden and birthplace of England's only Pope. | Read the Abbots Langley guide → |
| Croxley Green | Leafy, very low-crime village with a Metropolitan line into the City, a historic green and strong schools nearby. | Read the Croxley Green guide → |
| Chorleywood | One of Britain's best-rated villages, Chilterns common, Outstanding schools and a dual Tube and main-line commute. | Read the Chorleywood guide → |
| Bovingdon | Hilltop Chilterns village with a green and famous market — characterful and countryside, but no railway station. | Read the Bovingdon guide → |
| Redbourn | Large St Albans-district village with a famous common and cricket club, the River Ver and the M1 close (no station). | Read the Redbourn guide → |
| Wheathampstead | Riverside Lea-valley village with the Iron Age Devil's Dyke and Nomansland Common — characterful, no station. | Read the Wheathampstead guide → |
| Markyate | Affordable historic Watling Street village near the M1, with the Markyate Cell and "Wicked Lady" legend (no station). | Read the Markyate guide → |
| London Colney | Affordable village by the M25 just south of St Albans, with a shopping park and the River Colne (no station). | Read the London Colney guide → |
| Bricket Wood | Leafy village between St Albans and Watford with its own station, an ancient common and fast motorways. | Read the Bricket Wood guide → |
| Sandridge | Sought-after St Albans-district village beside Heartwood Forest, the largest new native forest in England (no station, uses St Albans). | Read the Sandridge guide → |
| Colney Heath | Friendly village between St Albans, London Colney and Hatfield, with a rare acid-heathland common on the River Colne (no station). | Read the Colney Heath guide → |
| Welwyn (village) | Historic conservation village on the River Mimram with Roman Baths and Welwyn North station to King's Cross — not to be confused with Welwyn Garden City. | Read the Welwyn guide → |
| Brookmans Park | Affluent planned commuter village with its own King's Cross-line station, a parkland golf club and Chancellor's School. | Read the Brookmans Park guide → |
| Cuffley | Leafy, affluent commuter village with its own Hertford Loop station direct to Moorgate and the ancient Northaw Great Wood on the doorstep. | Read the Cuffley guide → |
| Carpenders Park & South Oxhey | Affordable, well-connected spots on Watford's southern edge, with their own London Overground station to Euston and Oxhey Woods nearby. | Read the Carpenders Park guide → |
| Knebworth | Historic commuter village with its own fast King's Cross station, a Good-rated primary and the famous Knebworth House and concert park. | Read the Knebworth guide → |
| Codicote | Ancient, good-value village with a conservation-area High Street and green near Welwyn, with St Albans Abbey links going back to 1002 (no station). | Read the Codicote guide → |
| Kimpton | Friendly, historic village in countryside between Harpenden and Welwyn, famed for its May Festival and a hidden river under the High Street (no station). | Read the Kimpton guide → |
| Datchworth | High, scattered and historic village around its greens near Knebworth, with a Good-rated primary and a rare surviving whipping post (no station). | Read the Datchworth guide → |
| Aldbury | One of the prettiest villages in the county, with a green, duck pond and historic stocks below the National Trust's Ashridge Estate near Tring (no station). | Read the Aldbury guide → |
| Wigginton | One of the highest villages in the Chilterns, above Tring with Tring Park and the Champneys spa nearby, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (no station). | Read the Wigginton guide → |
| Sarratt | A classic Chess Valley village with a famous long green and Norman church north of Rickmansworth and Chorleywood, in the Chilterns AONB (no station). | Read the Sarratt guide → |
| Flaunden | A tiny, exclusive and deeply rural Chilterns village above the Chess Valley near Bovingdon, with a renowned gastropub (no station, shop or school). | Read the Flaunden guide → |
| Essendon | A peaceful, historic hilltop village between Hatfield and Hertford with a Good-rated primary and a rare Wedgwood font in its medieval church (no station). | Read the Essendon guide → |
| Little Berkhamsted | Tiny, historic hilltop village south-west of Hertford, by tradition where William the Conqueror took London's surrender in 1066 (no station or school). | Read the Little Berkhamsted guide → |
| Bayford | Small rural estate village south of Hertford with the rare distinction of its own railway station on the Hertford Loop to Moorgate. | Read the Bayford guide → |
| Northaw | Pretty green-belt village beside the ancient Northaw Great Wood country park near Cuffley, with a Good-rated primary (no station). | Read the Northaw guide → |
| Welham Green | Friendly, more affordable North Mymms village between Hatfield and Brookmans Park, with its own fast King's Cross station won after a 100-year campaign. | Read the Welham Green guide → |
| Chipperfield | Pretty, affluent village around a large wooded common near Kings Langley, with a Good-rated primary and the famous Two Brewers inn (no station). | Read the Chipperfield guide → |
| Aldenham | Exclusive green-belt village near Radlett and Elstree, home to Aldenham School and reservoir country park, with large country homes (no station). | Read the Aldenham guide → |
| Shenley | Popular Hertsmere village with a pretty green, the iconic domed Cage lock-up, a Good-rated primary and Shenley Park country park (no station). | Read the Shenley guide → |
| Ayot St Lawrence | Tiny, exclusive rural village west of Welwyn, famous as George Bernard Shaw's home and for its remarkable Palladian church (no station, school or shop). | Read the Ayot St Lawrence guide → |
| Tewin | Attractive village NE of Welwyn with two greens, a well-regarded primary, famous pubs and the Lady Anne Grimston tomb legend (no station). | Read the Tewin guide → |
| Much Hadham | Beautiful, historic East Herts village with a long listed High Street, an Outstanding-rated primary, the Forge Museum and Henry Moore's Perry Green (no station). | Read the Much Hadham guide → |
| Little Hadham | Small historic East Herts village near Bishop's Stortford with Hadham Hall, an Outstanding-rated primary and the 2021 A120 bypass and flood scheme (no station). | Read the Little Hadham guide → |
| Goffs Oak | Large semi-rural Broxbourne village between Cuffley and Cheshunt, named after an ancient oak, with Good-rated primaries and low council tax (no station). | Read the Goffs Oak guide → |
| Newgate Street | Small, secluded Welwyn Hatfield village near Cuffley with a Good-rated primary and the gated Ponsbourne Park estate (no station, shop or surgery). | Read the Newgate Street guide → |
| Brickendon | Historic green-village south of Hertford, home to Brickendonbury (the WWII SOE Station 17 sabotage school) and beside Broxbourne Woods (no station or shop). | Read the Brickendon guide → |
| Wormley | Accessible Lea Valley village between Cheshunt and Hoddesdon with a large Good-rated primary, the Grade I Wormleybury and fast trains from Broxbourne nearby. | Read the Wormley guide → |
Property prices across Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire sits above the national average, but with a wide spread between its priciest and most accessible towns.
| Measure | Approximate figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| County average price | around £530,000 | Median nearer £446,000; broadly flat to slightly down (~2%) over the year. |
| Detached homes | around £815,000 | Higher in the south and west of the county. |
| Flats & maisonettes | around £301,000 | The main entry point for first-time buyers, concentrated near town-centre stations. |
| Priciest vs most accessible | St Albans ~£633k ↔ the north-east lower | Stevenage, Cheshunt and parts of North & East Herts offer better value. |
Transport & commuting from Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire's appeal rests heavily on its four fast rail corridors into central London, plus the M25, M1, A1(M) and M11.
| Line | Key Hertfordshire stations | Into London |
|---|---|---|
| Thameslink / Midland | St Albans, Harpenden, Radlett | St Pancras (~20 min from St Albans), through to the City and Gatwick. |
| West Coast Main Line | Watford Junction, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring | Euston (~20–35 min). |
| Great Northern / East Coast | Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth, Welwyn GC, Hatfield, Potters Bar | King's Cross (~20–35 min). |
| West Anglia / Lea Valley | Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, Cheshunt, Broxbourne | Liverpool Street (~35–45 min). |
Schools in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a strong county for schools, mostly comprehensive but with pockets of partial selection and several leading independents.
Most of Hertfordshire admits to secondary school by catchment rather than an entrance test, so the specific address often determines which schools a family can access. The main exception is around Watford, where some partially selective schools admit a proportion of pupils by aptitude or test. Across the county there are many Ofsted Good and Outstanding state schools, alongside well-known independents. Because catchment matters so much, school admissions should be checked carefully against any property's exact location.
Hertfordshire's districts & council
Hertfordshire is a two-tier county: Hertfordshire County Council provides schools, roads and social care, while ten district and borough councils handle local services, council tax billing and planning.
| District / Borough | Main towns |
|---|---|
| St Albans City & District | St Albans, Harpenden, London Colney |
| Watford & Three Rivers | Watford, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood |
| Dacorum | Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring |
| Hertsmere | Borehamwood, Potters Bar, Bushey, Radlett |
| Welwyn Hatfield | Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield |
| Stevenage & North Herts | Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth, Royston, Baldock |
| East Herts | Hertford, Bishop's Stortford, Ware, Sawbridgeworth |
| Broxbourne | Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Waltham Cross |
Frequently asked questions
Is Hertfordshire a good place to live?
How much are houses in Hertfordshire?
Which Hertfordshire town has the fastest train to London?
Does Hertfordshire have grammar schools?
Can existing homeowners benefit from reviewing their mortgage?
Useful resources
Need help?
Whether you're researching a move to Hertfordshire, planning your next step, reviewing your finances or simply exploring your options — we're always happy to point people in the right direction.
That's Family Finance is an FCA-regulated protection adviser; we do not arrange mortgages ourselves. By submitting your details you agree your contact information will be passed to a carefully selected, FCA-regulated mortgage adviser.
House price, population and council figures are indicative for 2026 and should be verified with Land Registry data, ONS and Hertfordshire County Council. Journey times are approximate — always verify at nationalrail.co.uk and the relevant operator. Ofsted ratings and admissions change — verify at ofsted.gov.uk and with Hertfordshire County Council. Salary and affordability figures, where given in linked guides, are illustrative only and do not constitute financial advice.
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or mortgage advice. That's Family Finance is an FCA-regulated protection adviser (life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection). We do not arrange mortgages ourselves — we introduce you to carefully selected, FCA-regulated mortgage advisers.