Reading: what a home costs and what you need to earn
South East. House prices are based on 1,588 sales over the last 12 months.
How we rate: buying compares the typical home price with median pay (under 5× affordable, 5 to 8× fairly affordable, 8 to 11× expensive, over 11× very expensive). Renting compares a year of average rent with median pay (under 25% affordable, 25 to 33% fairly affordable, 33 to 40% expensive, over 40% very expensive). Crime compares the rate per resident with the England and Wales average.
What the numbers say about Reading
Across all property types, the typical home sold in Reading over the past year cost £346,500, which is 8.5× median full-time pay. Measured against pay, Reading is the 118th most expensive of 316 areas for buying; the typical area is 7.6×. Within the South East it is the 18th least expensive of 64 areas.
For a terraced house at £345,000, a lender would typically look for an income of around £69,000, and the 10% deposit would be £34,500, about 10 months of median gross pay. Median full-time pay here is £40,700, 59% of the income needed, so on these assumptions it takes two median incomes, or one well above the median, to meet the test.
Renting a terraced house costs about £1,607 a month, which is 47% of median gross pay. Across all property types the average rent is £1,574 a month. Measured against pay, it is the 38th most expensive of 316 areas for renting. Rents rose 1.4% over the latest year ONS measured, slower than the typical area (3.9%). Renting is relatively harder here than buying: the area ranks much higher for rents against pay than for house prices against pay.
Median full-time pay of £40,700 is the 115th highest of 316 areas; the typical area is £38,328. This is pay for people who live in Reading, wherever they work.
Police recorded 98.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year, which is 20% above average for England and Wales (81.3). That makes it the 54th highest of 310 areas for recorded crime per resident. The category furthest above average is sexual offences (20% above).
Buying
| Property type | Sales | Median price | Price ÷ pay | Deposit (10%) | Income typically needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | 162 | £615,000 | 15.1× | £61,500 | £123,000 |
| Semi-detached | 374 | £428,500 | 10.5× | £43,000 | £85,500 |
| Terraced | 582 | £345,000 | 8.5× | £34,500 | £69,000 |
| Flat | 470 | £225,000 | 5.5× | £22,500 | £45,000 |
Renting
| Property type | Average rent a month | Rent a year | Share of median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £2,172 | £26,064 | 64% |
| Semi-detached | £1,755 | £21,060 | 52% |
| Terraced | £1,607 | £19,284 | 47% |
| Flat | £1,272 | £15,264 | 38% |
How prices in Reading have changed
Average house price for all property types, by year. The last point is the latest 12 months.
Show the figures
| Year | Average price |
|---|---|
| 1995 | £58,253 |
| 1996 | £58,826 |
| 1997 | £67,567 |
| 1998 | £81,098 |
| 1999 | £92,040 |
| 2000 | £118,633 |
| 2001 | £129,625 |
| 2002 | £152,419 |
| 2003 | £166,520 |
| 2004 | £176,323 |
| 2005 | £183,968 |
| 2006 | £191,875 |
| 2007 | £214,869 |
| 2008 | £206,632 |
| 2009 | £186,492 |
| 2010 | £200,122 |
| 2011 | £200,023 |
| 2012 | £206,015 |
| 2013 | £214,570 |
| 2014 | £238,498 |
| 2015 | £268,240 |
| 2016 | £308,168 |
| 2017 | £317,709 |
| 2018 | £312,560 |
| 2019 | £302,380 |
| 2020 | £298,516 |
| 2021 | £315,068 |
| 2022 | £343,708 |
| 2023 | £346,611 |
| 2024 | £346,313 |
| 2025 | £355,362 |
| 12 months to July 2026 | £354,278 |
The average home price in Reading was £308,168 in 2016 and £354,278 in the 12 months to July 2026, a rise of 15% over ten years. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 36%. That makes Reading the 29th slowest-rising of 316 areas for ten-year price growth.
Going back to 2005, the average price has moved from £183,968 to £354,278, a rise of 93% (the typical area: a rise of 84%).
Prices fell 13% after the 2008 financial crisis, from £214,869 in 2007 to £186,492 in 2009. They did not get back to their 2007 level until 2014.
Prices are cash figures, not adjusted for inflation, and come from the HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, which uses a different method from the median prices above, so the two will not match exactly.
Buying a home against local pay, over time
Average house price divided by median full-time pay, in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. A higher number means homes are harder to afford.
Show the figures
| Year | Reading | Typical area in England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 7.3 years of pay | 7.0 years of pay |
| 2010 | 6.8 years of pay | 6.5 years of pay |
| 2015 | 9.2 years of pay | 7.1 years of pay |
| 2020 | 9.0 years of pay | 7.8 years of pay |
| 2025 | 8.7 years of pay | 7.5 years of pay |
In 2005 the average home in Reading cost 7.3 years of median full-time pay. By 2025 it cost 8.7 years, so homes have become harder to afford relative to local pay.
Homes were hardest to afford in 2015, at 9.2 years of pay. It has eased since.
Between 2005 and 2025, median pay in Reading rose 61% (from £25,262 to £40,700), while the average house price rose 93%.
The typical area of England and Wales needed 7.5 years of pay in 2025, so Reading is above the typical area.
Pay is the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, median for full-time employees living in the area, before tax, in cash terms (not adjusted for inflation). The 2025 figure is provisional. Where ONS withheld a figure because it was unreliable, or the council did not exist in its current form, that year is left out.
How rents in Reading have changed
Average monthly rent for all property types, by year. The last point is the latest month.
Show the figures
| Year | Average rent |
|---|---|
| 2015 | £1,049 a month |
| 2016 | £1,109 a month |
| 2017 | £1,130 a month |
| 2018 | £1,148 a month |
| 2019 | £1,173 a month |
| 2020 | £1,190 a month |
| 2021 | £1,172 a month |
| 2022 | £1,204 a month |
| 2023 | £1,278 a month |
| 2024 | £1,423 a month |
| 2025 | £1,548 a month |
| August 2026 | £1,574 a month |
The average rent in Reading was £1,049 a month in 2015 and £1,574 in August 2026, a rise of 50%. The typical area of England and Wales saw a rise of 52%. That makes Reading around the middle of 316 areas (180th fastest-rising) for rent growth since 2015.
Over the same period the average house price rose 32%. Rents have risen faster than house prices here, by 18 percentage points.
Rent figures are from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents and are cash figures, not adjusted for inflation.
Crime
Police recorded crime in the year ending March 2026, per 1,000 residents, against the average for the areas of England and Wales covered here.
| Type of crime | Per 1,000 residents | England and Wales average | Compared with average | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime (excluding fraud) | 98.0 | 81.3 | 20% above average | −1% |
| Violence against the person | 33.6 | 31.0 | 9% above average | −1% |
| Sexual offences | 4.0 | 3.4 | 20% above average | +6% |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 1.4 | 27% above average | +5% |
| Residential burglary (per 1,000 households) | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6% below average | +25% |
| Vehicle offences | 5.4 | 4.9 | 11% above average | −13% |
| Theft from the person | 1.5 | 1.6 | 9% below average | −40% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7% below average | −11% |
Recorded crime in Reading was 99.3 per 1,000 residents in the year ending March 2025 and 98.0 in the year ending March 2026, little changed. Across England and Wales it was down 4%.
Changes are left blank where the rate is very low, as a few extra crimes would look like a big swing. This is one year's change only, so it can reflect one-off events or changes in how police record crime, not just a real trend. Rates per resident use ONS population estimates for each year.