October 2026 report
Area reports · South East · West Berkshire
South East · Local authority district

West Berkshire

How West Berkshire compares with the 316 districts of England and Wales on prices, market activity, people, homes, transport and safety, from the same data our valuations use.

Price per m²
£4,735
-4.8% on the year
HPAI Property Index
48/100
Ranked 178th of 316 districts
Sales a month
150
-27% on the year
Recorded crime
54 per 1,000
Median district 71

HPAI Swatch

Select a tile to see the figure behind it

Top row: how things areBottom row: which way they are moving
Band1 low8 high (always best)

Price per m²

£4,735/m²

Median price per square metre over the last 12 months, all property types.

Band 6/8Score 15/20 Weight in the index 15%

Areas alike

Districts with the most similar character to West Berkshire: price level, sales, energy efficiency, density, rail use, crime and carbon, from the HPAI Swatch. Useful if you like this area but want to compare options.

New Forest
90% alike
Same band for price, energy efficiency, density, crime
Busier market: 181 sales a monthLower-carbon homesPrices rising there (+5.6%)
Wealden
89% alike
Same band for price, sales, energy efficiency, density
Lower crime: 41 per 1,000Fewer rail journeys
Chichester
89% alike
Same band for density, carbon
Smaller market: 118 sales a monthLess energy-efficient homesPrices rising there (+9.3%)
Horsham
88% alike
Same band for sales, rail use
More energy-efficient homesLower crime: 43 per 1,000Prices rising there (+0.9%)
East Devon
87% alike
Same band for sales, density
Lower crime: 41 per 1,000Cheaper: £3,814/m²
South Oxfordshire
87% alike
Same band for density, carbon
More energy-efficient homesLower crime: 40 per 1,000Prices rising there (+3.8%)

Alike but cheaper

Similar character, at least 15% lower price per m² than West Berkshire's £4,735

Teignbridge
90% alike
Same band for density, crime
Cheaper: £3,509/m²Less energy-efficient homes
South Kesteven
90% alike
Same band for sales, energy efficiency, crime, carbon
Cheaper: £3,253/m²Fewer rail journeys
East Devon
87% alike
Same band for sales, density
Lower crime: 41 per 1,000Cheaper: £3,814/m²
Newark and Sherwood
87% alike
Same band for density, carbon
Cheaper: £2,849/m²Higher crime: 68 per 1,000

Buying costs

At today's 5.36% five-year fixed mortgage rate (August 2026), a typical semi-detached house in West Berkshire (£375,000) costs about £1,704 a month with a 25% deposit over 25 years. With inflation at 3.1%, prices are down 7.7% on the year in real terms.

Market conditions

Latest published, August 2026

5.36%5-year fixed mortgage rate (75% loan-to-value, Bank of England) +0.50 points on a year ago
3.1%Inflation (CPI, ONS) 3.8% a year ago

Repayment calculator

Starts from the median price of each property type in West Berkshire (last 12 months). Change any figure.

£1,704a month
Loan
£281,250
Deposit
£93,750
Total interest
–
Income lenders may look for (4.5×)
–

A guide only: repayment mortgage at a fixed rate for the whole term; lenders' rates, fees and criteria vary.

Prices

Homes in West Berkshire sell for £4,735 per m² (12-month median, all property types), 0% below the South East median. Prices fell 4.8% over the last year.

Price per m², last 10 years

12-month median, all property types, against the region and the median district in England and Wales

By property type

Last 12 months

Type£/m²YearMedian price
Detached4,515 -1.4%£560,000
Semi-detached4,636 +0.8%£375,000
Terraced4,412 -0.0%£320,000
Flat3,708 -1.0%£155,000

Market

About 1,801 homes sold in the last 12 months, 30% of them semi-detacheds. Activity is down 27% on a year ago.

Sales a month

Open-market sales registered with HM Land Registry; the line is the 12-month average

What sells

Sales by property type, last 12 months

People & homes

166,616 people live in West Berkshire, 237 per km² across 704.2 km². The population changed by +0.4% in the last year.

Population

ONS mid-year estimates (projected after the latest year)

Homes and energy

Energy Performance Certificates and ONS

64Average EPC scoreBand 3 of 8
4.2 tCO₂ a home a yearBand 2 of 8
237Residents per km²Band 2 of 8

Transport

10 rail stations with 3.5 million entries and exits in 2025. Newbury accounts for 43%.

Rail stations

Entries and exits, 2025 (Office of Rail and Road), with the change on the previous year

Safety

54 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year (Apr 2025 - Mar 2026), higher than 23% of districts; the median district has 71. Crime is down 4.4% on the year.

Recorded crime, 12 months to each March

Home Office police recorded crime; anti-social behaviour isn't recorded crime

Main types

Recorded crimes, Apr 2025 - Mar 2026

Schools

80 schools take primary-age pupils and 26 secondary-age, 27,634 pupils in all. Distances to a particular home, and admissions rules, are in each valuation report.

Latest inspection outcomes

Ofsted, in Ofsted's own terms; report cards (from November 2025) have no overall grade; Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn

How hard it is to get in

First-choice applications and offers, latest entry year (DfE, England)

Value a home in West Berkshire

Free instant valuation using the same data as this report: recent sales, local price trends and the HPAI Swatch.

Get a free valuation

October 2026 report: as up to date as it can be. Every figure is the latest each source has published. Where an official source runs behind (population, rail passengers), we project it forward to today from its own trend and mark it as projected. Latest periods:

  • Sales and prices: to August 2026 (HM Land Registry)
  • Recorded crime: year to March 2026 (Home Office)
  • Population: mid-2025 estimates, projected to date (ONS)
  • Rail passengers: year to March 2025, projected after that (Office of Rail and Road)
  • Schools: latest published inspections and admissions (Ofsted, DfE)
  • Energy and homes: certificates lodged to date (EPC register)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.