Reading's average home slipped just 0.4% in the year to August, while Wokingham fell 2.5% and Bracknell 2.3%. Flats are still the weak spot, down 2.7%.
The average Reading home was worth £350,501 in August, almost exactly where it was a month earlier. Over the year it is down 0.4%, or £1,552.
That is a small fall, and a smaller one than most of Reading’s neighbours. Wokingham’s average dropped 2.5% over the same year and Bracknell Forest’s 2.3%. The South East as a whole fell 0.8%.
The figures come from the UK House Price Index for August 2026, published by HM Land Registry and the ONS on Wednesday. They are built from completed sales registered with the Land Registry. The UKHPI average is a mean, not a median, so a few expensive sales in a month can move it.
The July fall was smaller than first reported
Last month we reported that Reading’s average fell £9,885 in July, to £349,550. That was the figure the Land Registry published at the time. With more July sales now registered, it has revised July up to £350,882. The monthly fall becomes £7,683, or 2.1%, rather than 2.8%.
Recent months are always provisional in this index, because sales take weeks to reach the register. It is worth knowing when reading any single month’s number, including August’s.
Reading against its neighbours
| Area | Average price | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £583,688 | -0.2% |
| Wokingham | £491,944 | -2.5% |
| West Berkshire | £401,830 | -0.4% |
| Bracknell Forest | £391,521 | -2.3% |
| South East | £379,953 | -0.8% |
| Reading | £350,501 | -0.4% |
| Slough | £349,397 | +0.4% |
| England | £293,525 | +0.4% |
Reading is still the cheapest of the Berkshire unitaries bar Slough. The gap to Slough has nearly closed: £1,104 in August, against £4,188 a year earlier. Slough was the only Berkshire borough where prices rose over the year.
Flats are still the weak spot
| Type | August 2026 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £714,640 | -0.5% |
| Semi-detached | £443,351 | +0.7% |
| Terraced | £353,126 | +0.8% |
| Flats and maisonettes | £224,077 | -2.7% |
| First-time buyer average | £308,748 | -0.4% |
Terraced and semi-detached homes are worth a little more than a year ago. Flats are worth 2.7% less, and they have been falling on the year in every month of the last twelve.
Buyers using a mortgage paid an average of £354,216. Cash buyers paid £334,658.
The past year has gone up and down rather than one way. The average touched £358,565 in June, then fell back in July. It peaked at £360,385 in September 2024, and August’s figure is £9,884 below that.
What it means for you
If you are selling a flat, the market is softer than for houses. Prices for flats are down on the year while terraces and semis are slightly up, so expect buyers to negotiate harder.
If you are buying your first home, first-time buyers in the borough paid an average of £308,748, down 0.4% on the year. That covers every type of home they bought.
If you want to see what homes on your own street sold for, the Land Registry’s price paid search lists individual sales. Our Reading house prices page has the longer picture, and council tax by band is on our council tax bands page.
The September figures are due in November.
Sources
- HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index full data file, August 2026, published 21 October 2026, for every figure in this article, including the revised July values
- UK House Price Index reports
- UKHPI browser for Reading
Have your say