Swindon Property Prices Run Ahead of the Curve

Despite consternation in certain quarters about the Renters Rights Bill, trepidation about what might come from this month’s Budget announcement, and disappointment that the Bank of England base rate did not fall again at the last meeting, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed that market activity has taken a significant uptick this month, with the best listings levels seen since 2022. Whilst that has partly been fuelled by buy to let landlords and second-home owners attempting to sell ahead of the budget announcement, we nevertheless have seen a jump in sales numbers at the same time, as more first time buyers and second steppers (those two groups of buyers more likely to need a significant mortgage in order to purchase) take advantage of falling rates as banks compete for business, in anticipation that the base rate is likely to drop to 4.75% on November 7th.

The Nationwide and The Halifax have both indicated an annual price increase of around 3% over the past 12 months based in the mortgage offers they are writing, which forms the basis of the indexes; now, to some people that might sound modest, but in fact that has been the best annual price growth we have seen nationally since December 2021.

This is all well and good to know, because although it describes the national picture, the mood painted by the national picture is something that feeds into local market psyche - so when the national news is good, it does tend to help or reflect local markets.

What is better news still then, for Swindon homeowners, is that the most recent ONS data - based on true sales completing and the prices that have hit Land Registry, shows that Swindon property prices are keeping ahead of the curve, actually increasing by 3.8% over the 12 months to July 2024 (there is always a slight lag when it comes to sold prices reaching land registry, hence discussing July data). 3% nationally (according to mortgage indexes) but 3.8% locally… is that much of a difference? It is significant enough - remember that 3.8% is not 0.8% better than 3%; 3.8% is 27% better than 3% - i.e. we can look at this, and we can extrapolate that Swindon property prices are growing 27% faster than in the country as a whole.

Things look better still for Swindon properties selling into the first-time buyer market, which show a 4% annual increase (a whole 33% better than the national average).

Perhaps striking is that the Swindon property market has really outperformed the Southwest, where overall property prices have remained fairly static over 12 months, according to ONS data.

The average property in Swindon currently stands at £271,000 (based on provisional data from the ONS from July 2024), compared to a little over £261,000 back in July 2023.

Prices in the Southwest by comparison have risen from an average of £317,000 to £320,000 over the same period - a less than 1% increase in 12 months.

As for first time buyer properties in Swindon? This is one of the most active segments of our local market right now, with the average first time purchase in Swindon currently standing at £234,000, having been at £225,000 a year ago. A good time to sell, perhaps, if you were first time buyers when you first purchased yours, your potential buyer maybe also being a first-time buyer now, just like you were then.

For a more in-depth chat about the property market in Swindon, please call any of our house group members - we would love to share our expertise.