Beaconsfield is making headlines again.

Six weeks ago the average house price in the town’s HP9 postcode topped the list of places in England and Wales where homebuyers pay the highest premium to live near a top performing state school.

Beaconsfield’s £1,034,547 norm was £634,181 – 158 per cent - above the average house price in the county.

Since then, further research by Lloyds Bank has revealed another reason why this south Bucks town is in a league on its own.

Beaconsfield has become the first market town in England where the average for a house – now £1,049,659 - has broken the million pound barrier. 

Even in the few short weeks since the bank’s September report on the premium to live near a good school, the average you can expect to pay for a house in Beaconsfield has gone up by £15,112.

The data for the previous report was based on Land Registry figures for the year up to May. The market town report is based on Land Registry figures for the 12 months to June.

The £647,623 premium – 161 per cent - to live in the HP9 post code within walking distance of the regular Tuesday market in the Old Town and the farmers market on the fourth Saturday of every month is way above the premium paid to live in other places in the Top 10.

Henley is the second most expensive market town in England.

To live by the river in posh Henley is likely to cost you around £831,452, that’s 108 per cent above the county average. The report says house prices in market towns across England have been increasing at the rate of £405 a month for the past five years. 

Thame is one of three newcomers on the 2017 list. In common with Henley, house prices in Thame have risen 53 per cent since 2012.

The average in Henley has shot up £288,847 over the past five years and the cost of a home in Thame has increased by £164,582 to £476,365 compared with the £399,461 typical price paid in Oxfordshire this year.

Andrew Mason, the bank’s mortgages product director, says Beaconsfield’s geographic position close to the Chiltern Hills and the half hour commute into Marylebone also has a lot to do with the amount buyers are ready to pay to live there.

He sums up: “Understandably homebuyers continue to be attracted to the charm and high quality of life offered by market towns and are typically happy to pay extra to live there.”

However there are times when living in Beaconsfield isn’t the metaphorical bed of roses. Thorns can be painful.

This week’s report from Lloyds Bank tots up how much London commuters can save financially by moving further out.

Commenting on the findings, Andrew Mason says: “Even at up to 20 minutes distance away from the heart of the capital, commuters from towns such as Elstree benefit from an average house price that is £299,328 lower than the £797,158 typical cost of a home in central London. Examples are rare,” concedes the mortgage boss “but some commuters to Central London live in areas that command higher house prices.”

Guess which two South Bucks towns on the Chiltern Line provide no financial incentive as a place to live if you work in the capital?

The average cost of a home in Beaconsfield is £257,057 more than a home in capital.

Commuters from Gerrards Cross (average house price: £903,142) also don’t gain anything by living further out.

Do they care? No. Most reckon they are quids in.

Ask local estate agents, they say buyers from West London are moving out in droves.