Swindon house prices increased slightly in December

House prices increased slightly, by 0.3%, in Swindon in December, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.6% annual decline.

The average Swindon house price in December was £264,866, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices decreased 0.5%, and Swindon was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Swindon fell by £1,600 – putting the area seventh among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 5.6%, to £449,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 8.9% of their value, giving an average price of £303,000.

 

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Swindon spent an average of £226,000 on their property – £1,900 less than a year ago, but £40,200 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £307,100 on average in December – 35.9% more than first-time buyers.

 

 

 

Property types

 

 

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Swindon in December – they increased 0.9%, to £155,695 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.1%.

 

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 0.2% monthly; up 0.6% annually; £472,474 average
• Semi-detached: up 0.5% monthly; up 0.2% annually; £296,379 average
• Terraced: down 0.1% monthly; down 2.1% annually; £228,985 average

 

 

How do property prices in Swindon compare?

 

Buyers paid 17% less than the average price in the South West (£319,000) in December for a property in Swindon. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £486,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Swindon. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£218,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

 

 

Factfile

Average property price in December

• Swindon: £264,866
• The South West: £318,966
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• Swindon: -0.6%
• The South West: -2.2%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

• South Hams: +5.6%
• Torridge: -8.9%