6 Reasons to invest in property in Swindon
Location
Swindon is in a real sweet spot when it comes to location. It’s in the beautiful county of Wiltshire, with its historic landmarks such as Avebury and Stonehenge, and within half an hour of some of the finest English countryside. It’s home to 1 of Europe’s most successful Designer outlet centres and it’s also on the doorstep to the Cotswolds, and it’s capital, Cirencester. There’s also the Cotswold Water Park, which is a real destination for all things on or in the water!
Transport Links
Swindon benefits from an excellent location on the M4 between J15 and J16 so it’s great for commuters to Reading, Bristol, Bath, and London. With strategic connectivity across southern England and Wales and the A419 leading to the M5 to the Midlands, and the A420 to Oxford. With direct rail links to Bath, Bristol, Reading, Cardiff, and Swansea, and with London less than an hour away, it’s easy to see why people are buying here with property prices so much lower than in the cities nearby. Over 1.9 million people live within 1 commutable hour of Swindon and 12 world-class universities can also be reached within an hour. Bristol, Heathrow and Gatwick airports are also within an hour’s reach.
Employment and opportunities
Many key companies have their HQ’s based here, including Nationwide, Intel, Zurich, Npower, and First Great Western. Distribution Centres for Amazon, B&Q, and Aldi are also in the town. The Honda site has been bought by Japanese logistics firm, Panattoni, and they have pledged to make a £700m investment to regenerate the site beginning in 2022. With the Government investing heavily in Technology, it’s argued that Swindon is the hub of science and innovation in the country. All 7 of the research councils are here, and all the money that goes into our universities and to businesses through Innovate UK comes through Swindon. The UK Space Agency is also based in Swindon. It also has the 7th largest automotive manufacturing employment cluster in the UK. Swindon hosts 3 growing colleges, including the new University Technical College for 14-19 year olds. Swindon also reported the UK’s largest apprenticeship growth increase in 2015-16.
Investment and growth
Huge investment in the town centre has begun, with Swindon Borough Council’s transformation costing £300million. Swindon is on the up, and that’s the best time to invest. Between 2016 and 2017, the town saw the second highest increase in housing stock, which at 1.8% is only behind Cambridge in terms of growth. The New Eastern Villages (NEV) scheme is one of the largest greenfield developments in the country. It will consist of 8,000 homes, new schools, employment spaces and community and leisure facilities. It will be located to the east of the A419 and south of the A420 roads and cover an area of over 700 hectares. On the edge of town, Wichelstowe is a partly complete urban extension to Swindon. The area has its own amenities and when completed, there will be over 4,000 new houses in total. Situated to the north of Swindon, Tadpole Garden Village is a modern development of 2 – 5 bedroom homes, forming part of a thriving new community. The new village has a community centre, retail and convenience facilities, a new primary school, play areas and plenty of open space to enjoy the great outdoors.
House prices
House prices in Swindon are typically 20% less than the rest of Wiltshire, with neighbouring areas such as Marlborough averaging £439k, Malmesbury £437k, Devizes £284, with Swindon settling around £244k over the last year. In comparison with Reading, it’s as much as 30%. Buyers paid 19.9% less than the average price in the South West (£275,000) in January 2021 for a property in Swindon. And it sees some of the lowest commercial rentals along the M4 corridor.
Rental Market
Major house builders continue to invest in the town, due to the demand generated from people looking to move here from all over the UK. Housing, like any market, is based on supply and demand and Swindon is increasingly recognised as a growing town with a big future. There’s a lot of good quality housing, and it’s very much an area where people are coming to live from surrounding cities. With working from home becoming a long-term reality, agents are reporting that there has been an increase of people relocating here. There are cheaper rents, a more affordable lifestyle, and not as much commuting. The town centre has a strong market for HMO’s. Demand for rental properties is high in Swindon, with the average time to let at 14 days, which is 31% quicker than last year, and rental figures averaging £770 pcm.
