New homes for first-time buyers in Essex – February 2012 update

Essex is a far more varied county than its most famous televised namesake - The Only Way Is Essex - would suggest. East of London and within easy commute of the capital, Essex is a more affordable housing option that many first-time buyers on the hunt for new homes are choosing to consider.

The historic town of Colchester is actually said to be the oldest town in Britain, and is certainly the oldest recorded Roman town. Located 60 miles north-east of London, it has good links to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line. A popular commuter town, it's less than 30 miles away from the well-connected Stansted Airport.

Bovis Homes is an active housebuilder in the town, and has a number of homes for sale across a range of developments. Quadriga is a scheme of modern two-bedroom apartments overlooking parkland. Part of the Government's FirstBuy programme, first-time buyers can purchase homes with a five per cent deposit. Situated near Colchester town centre, and also within easy reach of Chelmsford and Ipswich, the A12, M25 and A14 are all located close by, while train services run into London's Liverpool Street station in under an hour. Prices start at £133,950. Bovis Homes is also selling two-bedroom houses at Victory Square in Colchester, south of the town centre. Here, prices start at £139,950.

Basildon, located 25 miles east of Central London and 11 miles south of Chelmsford, is another popular location for new homes buyers. Located near Billericay, the town of Gavin and Stacey fame, Basildon was designed as a new town after World War II in 1948 to accommodate London's overspilling population, and was created from joining together four small villages - Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon, the most central of the four villages and from which the new town took its name, and Vange.

Weston Homes is selling one- and two-bedroom apartments at Morello Quarter on Cherrydown East, with prices varying between £125,000 and £167,000. All apartments feature a range of integrated appliances, high-quality fitted wardrobes, communal landscaped gardens and undercroft allocated car parking.

Barratt Homes is also providing buyers in Basildon with a range of one- and two-bedroom town centre apartments at its Axis development on Broadmayne. Also off Broadmayne is Beechwood Village, where Swan New Homes is currently offering a number of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties priced from £168,000.

First-time buyers who act very quickly might just save themselves up to £2,500 if they purchase a home at Country & Metropolitan's St Mary's Walk in Wickford before 24th March 2012, when the current Stamp Duty holiday comes to an end. Priced from £249,950, there is a choice of three- and four-bedroom homes at the development. Wickford has a direct rail service into Liverpool Street that takes around 40 minutes, making it a perfect commuter base.

The Aspect apartments at Bovis Homes' Quadriga development in Colchester start at £133,950, and the housebuilder offers a range of assistance schemes to make buying easier and more cost-effective