Medway has been named as one of the nation’s property hotspots, due to the high demand for homes to buy.

The Towns have been listed fifth on the National Hotspots Index after 63% of properties put on the market in the last three months were sold.

Top of the list, produced by online estate agent eMoov, was Bexley, where more than 70% of properties put on the market between January and March were snapped up, putting it at number one for the seventh time.

Other areas making it on the list for the first time were Ipswich, Watford and Milton Keynes, which, along with Medway, have been labelled London’s ‘satellite regions’.

Journey times to the capital can be as little as 35 minutes on the High Speed service from Strood.

Russell Quirk, founder of eMoov, said: “In the last year, we’ve seen a mass exodus from the expensive London heartland to more affordable climes.”

House prices in Medway have risen sharply.

The average price of a semi-detached in Gillingham is £247,000 – a rise of more than 10% over the last 12 months. A terrace property rose almost 5% to £180,000. But the number of properties on the market is falling.

In March this year, there were 139 homes for sale, compared to 164 in March 2014 and 301 in March 2011.

Spencer Fortag, director of Dockside Property Services estate agents, which has branches in Rochester and Strood, said there were no signs of the market slowing down.

He said: “Properties in Medway are really affordable and journey times to London are coming down all the time with improvements to rail services.

“Let’s not forget, it is not just the appeal of being close to London, there are plenty of large employers in Medway; the universities, the hospital and British Aerospace.”

Mr Fortag said properties were being snapped up within hours.

A two bedroom house in St Mary’s Island, for sale for £250,000, sold within 24 hours. On the lettings market, an apartment in The Quays, Chatham Maritime, was marketed by Dockside one morning and had been let by the end of the day.

He added: “It is a sellers’ market. For every property for sale, there are 15 people, plus, looking. I don’t see it changing any time soon. There are not enough houses being built to meet demand.”

It is estimated almost 30,000 new homes will be needed in the Towns by 2035.