HOUSE prices have rocketed more than 10 per cent across Bracknell, Wokingham and Ascot in just one year, new government figures reveal. 

The latest House Price Index took a snapshot of the housing market in February and revealed a sharp rise in prices across the area with the average home in Bracknell Forest selling for £289,851, a 12.7 per cent increase on February 2015. 

The data, released by the Land Registry on March 30, also shows a price hike of 11.1 per cent in Wokingham and a 10.6 per cent jump in the price of a home in the Royal Borough. 

The real price increases could even be as high as 15 or 16 per cent for the good quality, three-bedroom family homes Bracknell Forest is known for according to estate agent Nick Thring, owner of Duncan Yeardley. 

Explaining the rocketing prices, he said: "Throughout last year we had a situation where demand was outstripping supply, so certainly house prices were up. There was a lot of activity from buy-to-let landlords.

"With the recent changes to tax for buy-to-let properties we saw a huge surge in activity towards the end of last year so that certainly accounted for an awful lot of purchases."

However Mr Thring expects price growth to slow over the next year as the supply of new homes increases and interest in buy-to-let properties drops.
"More recently we are now starting to see things settling a bit. There's a bit more property becoming available and a lot of the investment buyers have bought by now." he added.

Slough had the biggest annual increase of any area in the country, jumping 19 per cent, while a home in the Royal Borough will set you back an average of £436, 668.

There was a surge in investment buyers last year ahead of changes to stamp duty which adds an extra three per cent onto the tax bill for those buying investment properties. 

East Berkshire has become an attractive option to those looking to move away from London but keep the good commuter links along the M3 and M4. 
The national average price of a home in England in Wales was £190,275 in February 2016 according to the Land Registry, a hike of 6.1 per cent.