A popular commuter belt location, but with plenty to offer in its own right, Reading’s star is on the rise. It has rapidly developed from a sleepy satellite of London into a well-rounded university town with its own personality. But what do the people who live there think of the prospects for buying and renting? In this list of the 10 best places to live in Reading, we find out which new homes developments are making waves in Berkshire’s biggest town.
Is Reading a good place to live?
With almost a quarter of a million inhabitants, Reading has grown quickly, but carefully. It’s a well-planned and designed town that continues to improve its cultural, retail, leisure and dining scenes. From Harris Arcade’s boutique shops to the vast Oracle shopping centre, there’s no shortage of excitement and entertainment to be found here.
Combined with its growing selection of good schools and excellent transport links, Reading has managed to secure itself a place as a prime spot for UK renters and buyers.
10 best places to live in Reading
With the overview established, let’s look at some of the best property developments in Reading for buying and renting. The following top 10 are all decided purely on the basis of their average scores collected from verified HomeViews resident reviewers. So, take a look at the top picks of Reading’s growing property portfolio, according to the people who live there.
*We know the title says 5 best places to live in Reading, but we’ve had a lot more listings here since the article published!
*PLEASE NOTE these rankings take into account how recently reviews have been submitted, so may not match the overall star ratings shown. More recent reviews are given a greater weighting to reflect current building performance.
Main reasons why people want to live in Reading
Professional opportunities: Reading is regularly voted as one of the best places to work in the UK. This is largely due to the growing service sector here. Not to mention Reading’s long-standing ties to the international technology community. Microsoft and Oracle are just some of the tech giants who have their UK headquarters in Reading.
Safety and security: Reading has done a lot to improve its crime and safety ratings in recent years. In fact, it has been so successful that Reading is now the UK’s safest city. The ONS recently recorded its crime rate as 59 crimes per 1,000 people – the lowest of all UK cities.
Transport links: Reading is only 30 minutes from the heart of London. It has excellent train links running both east into the capital and the Great Western main line. Reading is also on the new Elizabeth Line, making central London more accessible than ever. The town is well served by road, with almost immediate access to the M4, A329(M) and A33.
Reading Festival: Internationally known and enjoyed, the annual Reading Festival is a highlight for music lovers and big event thrill-seekers.
The most popular areas to live in Reading
Reading offers a variety of suburbs and neighbourhoods to suit all needs. The town is appealing to young professionals, settled families, older couples and students alike. Here are some of the most desirable parts of Reading to live in:
Earley
Earley, in southeast Reading, is a popular destination among families. It’s home to the beautiful green space of Laurel Park with its peaceful lake. Earley also provides easy access to both the town centre and the M4.
Woodley
Reading’s largest suburb, Woodley is a self-contained community with its own amenities and easy access to Reading centre. The expansive Dinton Park lies just to the east of Woodley, with its stunning collection of lakes.
Caversham
Located just to the north of the town centre, and across the River Thames, Caversham has its own distinct community feel while still being connected to Reading itself. Caversham’s river and lakeside setting, combined with charming pubs and easy access to peaceful countryside make it an ever-popular choice.
Average property prices in Reading
Rightmove gives a current average property price in Reading of around £424,000 based on sales in the past 12 months (June 2024). While house price increases have slowed over the past year (as is the trend across the UK), Reading’s prices are still 7% higher today than in 2021.
If you want to know more about one of the biggest towns in the UK, then our area guide to Reading should be your next stop (see below). Here you can see more of our listings and resident reviews, as well as more general information about life in Reading.
HomeViews is the only independent review platform for residential developments in the UK. Prospective buyers and tenants use it to make an informed decision on where to live based on insights from carefully verified resident reviews. Part of Rightmove since February 2024, we’re working with developers, house builders, operators, housing associations and the Government to give residents a voice, recognise high performers and to help improve standards across the industry.
