We are all guilty of checking through property sites and imaging ourselves in million-pound properties. However the reality can be much less luxurious.
Sadly it seems that here in Berkshire even our cheapest first-time homes cost around £40,000 more than the national average. But not all hope is not lost because despite what you may think the number of first time buyers continue to rise. Zoopla has analysed numbers and found that the average cost of a first time buyer home is £220,000. But people in and around Berkshire are spending significantly more on average.
What is it the experts are saying?
The cost of buying first time in Reading is closest to the national average at £260,000. However this changes to a jaw dropping £500,000 on average in Windsor and Maidenhead with the most popular property being a three bedroom semi detached house. Even considering these mammoth figures the proportion of first time buyers still accounted for 36 percent of property purchases in 2018!
What does all this boil down to? Well in a non-scientific way here is what you would need to earn in each area of Berkshire. Prepare yourselves as it is expensive!
West Berkshire
Average house price for first time buyers: £310,000
Household income needed to buy: £69,000
Most common property for first time buyers: Three-bedroom semi detached house
Reading
Average house price for first time buyers: £260,000
Household income needed to buy: £60,000
Most popular property for first time buyers: Two-bedroom flat
Slough
Average house price for first time buyers: £364,725
Household income needed to buy: £81,000
Most popular property for first time buyers: Two-bedroom flat
Windsor and Maidenhead
Average house price for first time buyers: £500,000
Household income needed to buy: £111,000
Most common property for first time buyers: Three-bedroom semi detached house
Bracknell
Average house price for first time buyers: £350,000
Household income needed to buy: £77,750
Most popular property for first time buyers: Three-bedroom terraced
Wokingham
Average house price for first time buyers: £400,000
Household income needed to buy: £89,000
Most popular property for first time buyers: Three-bedroom semi detached house