Budget 2025: a Non-Event for Swindon Homeowners

There has been so much noise, speculation and expert commentary in the national press about potential wide-ranging and all-encompassing property tax changes, shock announcements and major market shake-ups, that many people locally put their plans on hold “just in case”.

As it turns out, the reality for Swindon homeowners and buyers is far more low-key – albeit, we would accept that there is a bit more in there that will affect local landlords and tenants.

The headline though, ultimately? It is that not much really changes here – except, one should hope, that those who have been waiting to see, watching what happens, out of fear of bad news, should really feel encouraged to now get going on that move they have been wishing they could make.

The big talking point in property market terms was the introduction of a “mansion tax” – or, officially, a High Value Council Tax Surcharge, to be aimed at properties valued over £2 million.

Let’s be honest, though: in parts of London, this is going to cause some headaches. Here in Swindon? There are not too many of those – and even less at £5 million, which is the next bracket up set to be taxed a larger amount.

Whilst it has made headlines, it is not something that will affect the vast majority of local people. Properties over £2 million are rare here (and £5 million even more so); for the handful of homeowners who might fall into that bracket, we really can appreciate how unwanted this extra tax is. But realistically the entry-level surcharge of £2,500 extra a year is unlikely to be unmanageable by many people in this bracket. It is a nuisance, but surely not a nail in a coffin for most.

What is perhaps surprising is that the OBR expects this policy to raise only around £400 million. A very nice Euro-Millions win, no doubt, but a small sum in the context of national tax receipts.

To us, it feels more of a political move than a particularly practical one.

Either way, it is not a major issue to concern most people in Swindon – even if its implementation date in 2028 will mean more properties nudging up into that bracket.

Something that will affect local people however is fiscal drag.

What do we mean by that? That tax thresholds have been frozen again, for three years longer than planned, taking us into the next decade – enough time for more Swindon residents to find their wages and salaries increase enough to be pushed into higher tax bands over those coming years.

It is essentially a tax rise via the back door; nothing particularly new there, in the history of Budgets.

On the flip side, the increase to the national living wage (announced and confirmed before the Budget) is genuinely good news for many in our town.

In other words, there is a bit of take, but there has also been a little give.

Landlords: squeezed, but no real shocks

Instead of taxing rental income through National Insurance, as many expected, the government has opted to raise the tax on property, dividend and savings income by 2%.

For landlords in Swindon, this could mean:

• Slightly higher annual tax bills
• Tighter margins
• More pressure on already stretched profitability.

Whilst some landlords may decide to exit the market, the more likely local outcome is that private landlords letting as individuals may look to form companies. Another likelihood is that tenants will face higher rents, as landlords try to balance rising costs.

Ironically, in the government’s push for fairness, tenants are therefore likely to feel the greatest impact in terms of the extra costs to them each month. Especially over time.
 

All that hype… for what?

Swindon’s property market has outperformed other parts of the country recently, but nevertheless it feels that we have spent weeks in “wait and see” mode. Sellers hit the pause button with worries of capital gains tax additions on residential sales, and buyers hesitated with an eye on stamp duty savings to come…

But neither the concerns nor the hopes of the general market came to pass. The uncertainty itself became more disruptive than any policy the Chancellor actually announced, as the autumn market didn’t spring to the same life that we would have expected.

And now that Rachel Reeves has commended her statement to the house, and the dust begins to settle, it turns out there was little for local people to worry about.

• No historic Stamp Duty changes.
• No CGT on main residences.
• No sweeping council tax rebanding.
• No new taxes on the average Swindon home.

We have seen a few modest adjustments, mostly affecting higher-value homes that tend to be concentrated in other parts of the country.

What next for the Swindon property market?

What we think will happen now, is that we will get back down to business – thankfully.

The speculation is over; the fear of the unknown has passed; and as far as the local housing market is concerned, this Budget is more a storm in a teacup than a seismic shift.

Some people may wait to get Christmas out of the way… but should they? The numbers of new buyer registrations are already rising, and with an expected interest rate cut to come this month, and perhaps another in the first three months of 2026, buyer affordability is going to increase – so if you are thinking of selling, it is well worth considering marketing right now if you have been of a ‘wait and see’ point of view.

The certainty and clarity that has settled over the market since that Budget address should help unlock those decisions people had put on pause. And as a modern and personal Swindon estate agency, we are glad to be able to give people some clarity at last.

If you have been waiting for the Budget before making your next move, the good news is:
you can move ahead with confidence.