Slough is 46 per cent cheaper than its neighbours

House prices in Slough are 46 per cent below those of neighbouring boroughs, including those in London, according to research by Savills.

Speaking at our Spotlight on Slough webinar on May 6, Gaby Foord, associate director, residential research, for the property consultancy and Thames Tap partner, said the average transaction in Slough during the year to January 2021 was £358,000, while in the Royal Borough the figure was £660,000.

Slough is also the same amount cheaper than the capital.

She told delegates: “Slough represents a significant value opportunity compared to neighbouring markets.”

She went on: “Even compared to Reading, the Thames Valley and the wider South East, particularly London, Slough really does represent value.

“It’s 46 per cent cheaper than the average in London, despite sitting just outside the capital. It’s 15 per cent lower than the average across the South East and almost 2.5 per cent lower than Reading which is considerably further from London.”

But she said Slough had, nonetheless, seen considerable growth in recent years with prices 55 per cent higher than in 2014.

Nationally, she said, the housing market grew last year even when the UK went into recession but was driven by behaviour rather than economics. Savills sees continuing growth in 2021 with lifestyles and the need for more indoor and outdoor space, high in people’s priorities.

She said: “The market has been amazingly strong over the last year but it has been driven largely by those with greater financial security.

“Much of the activity we have seen has been from people reassessing their housing needs after the experience of lockdown.

“We think lifestyle reasons will continue to drive the market throughout 2021 with people still looking for space.

“But from 2022 onwards, hopefully lockdowns will be far behind us and we expect the market to return to more economic fundamentals and future house price growth will be driven by interest rates remaining very low.

“But the greatest growth is likely to be in markets which haven’t seen such growth over the last decade such as the Midlands and the North.”

Growth is still expected in the South East at a rate of around 17 per cent over the next five years, compared to just 12.6 per cent in London.