The Thameside town of Maidenhead is affluent, surrounded by beautiful countryside and has excellent transport links. It's a town which is set to become even more attractive to new home buyers with the completion of Crossrail in 2018. This will mean Berkshire, along with Buckinghamshire, will be directly linked to south-east London and Essex. In practical terms this means a journey from Maidenhead to Bond St will take 41 minutes, Liverpool St 48 minutes and Canary Wharf in 55 minutes. That's around 20 minutes quicker than present-day journeys. It also means a journey to Reading will take no more than 12 minutes.
This improvement in commuter times is just one, but certainly not the only reason, why Maidenhead is seen as a property hotspot. The town itself, located in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, is also being redeveloped and already has many attractive residential areas, open green spaces as well as pleasant walks along the Thames on which the town is situated. The surrounding Chiltern countryside is classed as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The town is in the heart of what's known as Britain's Silicon Valley which is another draw factor. Many London families also move here because of the high-quality schools and when they're looking for more spacious properties.
Maidenhead's most sought-after homes are, unsurprisingly, along the riverside. The town does have new build homes available as well as older homes. Don't be put off by Maidenhead's reputation for high prices. There are still good-value properties available especially with the assistance of Help to Buy. An example of this is The Loftings development built by Redrow.
The local council also has some Shared Ownership properties available. In partnership with housing associations, they operate a scheme called 'Do It Yourself Shared Ownership' which means buyers can choose properties on the open market giving a better choice of new homes. High rents can be commanded in the town if you're looking to buy-to-let, especially with young professionals working locally in the Silicon Valley or commuting into London.
Schools that have been rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted include Boyne Hill C of E and Oldfield primary. Claires Court School also has a very good reputation. Eton College sponsors the free state comprehensive Holyport College. There are also a number of grammar and private schools in the area.
Apart from the prospect of Crossrail improving already excellent rail services, Maidenhead lies just north of the M4, the A404(M) is just to the west and the M40 is further to the north giving quicker journey times to Oxford. Heathrow Airport is also within easy reach