Spotlight on Wokingham

What’s your patch like?

It’s big. We cover everything between the Reading and Sunningdale offices – so there’s Wokingham, Winnersh, Crowthorne, Bracknell and Arborfield. The Winkworth brand fits comfortably with the Wokingham market – it’s strong in the types of properties we deal with and has a good London presence.

Why should people think about moving to these areas?

Traditionally these are solid commuter areas with good mainline stations. They’re affluent areas with good schools and strong employment markets, so there’s always lots of movement. The region is always highly rated for families in the UK and people relocate here from everywhere - we've had people from London, from Hong Kong and from all over.

What kind of housing stock is there in these various areas?

Everything from smaller apartments at around £175,000 up to detached houses at £5 million. There’s a tremendous amount of new builds in the area now – plus there are houses that are hundreds of years old. Wokingham and Bracknell have both undergone town centre regenerations in recent years, which have improved the areas significantly. Especially Bracknell, which has had a completely new rebuild and now has a great indoor and outdoor shopping complex. 

How’s the local property market performing at the moment?

It’s still moving, though not as fast as it has been in recent years, and prices are starting to drop a bit. Mortgages haven’t been too much of a problem, though some people have withdrawn because of interest rates. However other people have been encouraged to move down the other way. There’s never a good time to be opening an agency - things have changed quite a lot during our planning time!

What advice would you give to sellers?

Come and see us! You might lose on your sale but you’ll gain on your purchase. If you are thinking of selling and coming out of the market, then now’s the time to do it. 

What trends are you seeing among buyers and sellers?

Everything. We’ve got first time buyers and people moving for all sorts of reasons. There isn’t one area of the market outstripping the others – but we have only been open two weeks. It’s a much tougher place to be than it was 18 months ago. We see people moving from Windsor and Marlowe as well as from central London, while people moving out tend to be older sellers tend to be going westwards towards Devon and Cornwall.

Your predictions for 2023/24? 

We’ll still have reasonable demand for properties in Wokingham and surrounding areas, but perhaps lower demand. People will always need to move for jobs and school; young people will still want to move out of home and prices will adapt accordingly.

Current best buys

1. Central Wokingham

This one bedroom apartment in central Wokingham is well-priced at £199,950 and would make a great home for a first time buyer, or a good investment for a landlord. The top floor flat has attractive, neutral decor and the building has a lift; it’s for sale with Winkworth Wokingham 01189 072777.

2. Finchampstead

This fantastic six bedroom house in Finchampstead, Wokingham combines traditional styling with a contemporary twist. It’s an impressive, spacious house, reached via a large driveway and there are mature landscaped gardens, a beautiful orangery and a heated outdoor pool. It’s on the market with Winkworth Wokingham 01189 072777 for £2.5m.

3. Finchampstead

A four bedroom house in Finchampstead that’s perfect for a family has come onto the market at £650,000. It has three separate reception rooms, a lovely garden and a garage and is listed with Winkworth Wokingham 01189 072777.