Buying property in Windsor

Windsor real estate: a prestigious location for property investment in South East England

With a bustling town centre, strong transport links and international appeal, Windsor has a thriving property market, and particularly the rental sector, which is making it an exciting area for overseas investors to invest in.

A shopping and cultural centre

As a historic market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Windsor is best known for Windsor Castle, which is one of the official residences of the British monarch. This town in South East England is full of winding alleyways, stunning properties and mesmerising views.

Windsor is also known for its shopping. The pedestrianised Peascod Street is the main street lined with shops. It’s home to Windsor Yards and large chains, such as Waterstones and M&S, a local department store, Daniels, and a range of smaller outlets and cafes.

Additionally, there’s a shopping centre at Windsor Royal Station with over 40 shops and many cafes, restaurants and bars. This includes fashion retailers like Jigsaw and Hobbs and beauty retailers like Molton Brown.

Windsor also has great choices when it comes to eateries. The Boatman is a pub located right by the river. Bill’s, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Café Rouge, a French bistro, are also located at Windsor Royal Station.

On top of that, there are a number of cultural offerings in Windsor. The Theatre Royal Windsor is an Edwardian theatre with a history stretching back over 200 years and is the only unsubsidised producing theatre to operate all year round in Great Britain.

The Old Court is an art centre that hosts contemporary arts events, such as music, comedy, theatre, dance and film. Legoland Windsor is also located here and is the only Legoland park in the UK and the largest in the world in terms of area.

There’s a tradition of horse racing in Windsor and across Berkshire too. As one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the UK, Royal Windsor Racecourse is set in 165 acres of countryside and located on the banks of the River Thames. The world-famous Ascot Racecourse, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing, is also located only seven miles from Windsor.

Connections and transport links in Windsor

Windsor is situated immediately south of the River Thames, which forms the boundary of the town Eton. It’s also located about six miles from Maidenhead, 16 miles from Reading and 22 miles from Central London.

While the town is relatively small, Windsor is extremely well connected and has two rail stations, Windsor & Eton Central and Windsor & Eton Riverside. Both are only a few minutes’ walk from the town centre and provide connections to London Paddington, Waterloo, Oxford and Reading.

The fastest trains with a change in Slough take about 30 minutes to get to the capital. Windsor will also benefit from Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line opening in Slough, which is only six minutes away on the train. Full end-to-end services between Reading and Shenfield in Essex with stops throughout London and the Heathrow terminals are expected to start by May 2023.

There are also bus services between Windsor and Central London. And with its location close to the M4, it’s also easy to reach areas of the South West of England and Wales by car.

The basics of Windsor’s property market

Windsor, in addition to Eton, is located within the SL postcode. In the past year, properties in the town sold for an average price of £599,362, according to data from Rightmove. Sold prices were 5% up on the previous year and 7% up on the peak of £557,832 in 2017.

With its livability and connections, Windsor is appealing to homeowners, tenants and investors alike. The local property market offers a wide variety of housing, including period cottages, Georgian houses, Victorian terraces, properties from the 1930s and more modern houses, such as riverside townhouses flats.

While the area is home to many old properties, there are also a growing number of contemporary new-build developments being brought forward in this area of Berkshire. This is helping the local market keep up with the increasing demand for housing.

The thriving rental market

The rental market is varied in Windsor. It’s particularly appealing for workers commuting to Reading, Slough and London, and with rail connections improving even more between these areas, this will only further attract commuters to the area.

Surrounded by rural landscapes, Windsor is also a town where families often want to lay down roots. Additionally, there are numerous top schools in and near Windsor, including Windsor Girls’ School, which is a secondary school that has been rated “Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

The world-famous public school for boys, Eton College, is also located just across the river from Windsor. And the nearby St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School, Upton Court Grammar School and Slough and Eton Church of England Business and Enterprise College are all nearby secondary schools with “Outstanding” ratings.

Property investment opportunities in Windsor

The opening of the entire Crossrail route and additional investment coming to the borough will benefit Windsor and its residents. This will likely further push up house prices and make the town even more attractive for commuters and those looking to be better connected to the capital and other areas across the region.

These developments are also expected to boost rental values and housing demand too. Because of this, Windsor’s property investment prospects continue to look bright moving forward.

With demand increasing more and more, it could prove to be a beneficial time to start investing in this Berkshire town. And as Windsor boasts international acclaim, it’s expected to be an exciting property investment hotspot for overseas investors.