Prospective homebuyers looking for their next location are willing to spend on average 38 minutes commuting into work, according to new research from national estate agency Jackson-Stops.

The research, which surveyed 500 active house hunters last month, demonstrates the surprising reversal of the ‘Race for Space’ trend witnessed during the pandemic and is even shorter than the traditional commuter ‘Golden Hour’. The survey results indicate this may be fuelled by a return to office norms, in which 35% now commute to their place of work more now than they did six months ago.

As businesses mandate more in-person working days, 31% of respondents said that they now commute to work five days a week or more. According to the research, those in London and the South West were the most likely to commute five days a week or more, at 45% of respondents respectively.

This return to the office follows wider research indicating businesses wish to see workers back in the office more regularly. According to LinkedIn, fewer than 12% of adverts are for fully remote working roles, as of September 2022. Similarly, figures released by the Department for Transport at the end of April showed national rail passenger numbers have now reached over 100% of pre-Covid levels for the first time since March 2020. With numbers doubling in a year, especially during the Monday to Friday working week, it’s clear commuting is once again back on the agenda for workers.

While 38 minutes was the average commute time that workers would be happy with, Jackson-Stops’ research showed there was a vast amount of variation in what people would prefer. Around 9% would only be willing to commute for 15 minutes or less. By contrast, just 3% said they would be willing to commute for more than two hours.