Windsor and Maidenhead first-time buyers pay near double national average

First-time buyers in Windsor and Maidenhead face having to fork out almost double the national average price just to get their foot on the property ladder.

A home in the Royal Borough will cost an average of £448,113 for such buyers, 2025 data from the Office for National Statistics has shown.

The eye-watering figure places Windsor and Maidenhead among the most expensive areas in the South East for people looking to purchase their first property.

ONS data showed prices for first-time buyers in the borough were more than 30 per cent higher than in Slough, where the average stands at £318,558.

In Buckinghamshire, a typical first-time buyer pays £355,842 – around 20 per cent less than in Windsor and Maidenhead. In Wokingham, the average £394,969 cost is nearly 12 per cent lower.

The picture becomes even starker when comparing local prices to wider regional and national averages.

First-time buyers in the South East of England typically paid £307,519 in August 2025.

That is a 31.4 per cent less than the Royal Borough’s figure, underscoring just how far Windsor and Maidenhead outpaces the rest of the region.

In England as a whole, the average first-time buyer paid £247,811 – almost £200,000 less than in Windsor and Maidenhead and a 44.8 per cent decrease.

Tom Adams, sales manager at Maidenhead-based Braxton estate agents, said the Royal Borough’s start figures were down to several factors.

“Prices have gone up dramatically in the last 10 years, probably ever since they started marketing Crossrail back in 2013, 2014.

“After that, we saw two years of really, really aggressive price rises.

“People bought into Crossrail [Elizabeth line] then essentially, but there are still people coming out of London.”

Other influences included the recently ended Government Help to Buy scheme, he said, which had helped fuel demand for property.

For many would-be buyers, the price gulf might make home ownership in Windsor and Maidenhead feel increasingly out of reach.

But in contrast to the relatively high cost barrier to the Royal Borough, there still appears a healthy appetite for first-time buyers drawn to the area.

Mr Adams said around half of Braxton’s customers each month were first-time buyers, with some paying up to £1million for their new home.

“There are a lot of wealthy families,” he added.

“I think the bank of mum and dad comes into it on quite a few occasions.

“They’d rather their kids – I say kids, most first-time buyers are in their 30s now.

“But rather than see them rent and throw their money away essentially, they’d rather get them on to the property ladder.”

He added: “[My advice for] first time buyers would be: always get onto the market as soon as you can.

“Generally, in Maidenhead, even if other areas start to suffer, because of the commuter links, we’re always going to hold prices here.

“I think, in general, you're never going to lose.”