House prices in Yorkshire reach 10-year-high as region's property boom expected to continue

House prices in Yorkshire have reached a 10-year-high, according to the latest statistics.
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Annual house price growth accelerated to 13.4 per cent in June, marking the strongest growth since November 2004, reports the Nationwide Building Society index.

Across the UK, the average house price in June was £245,432, the report said.

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Prices were up by 0.7 per cent month-on-month, following a 1.7 per cent increase in May.

House prices in Yorkshire have reached a 10-year-high, according to the latest statistics. Pictured: Whitkirk.House prices in Yorkshire have reached a 10-year-high, according to the latest statistics. Pictured: Whitkirk.
House prices in Yorkshire have reached a 10-year-high, according to the latest statistics. Pictured: Whitkirk.

Price growth has hit a 10-year high in Wales (+7.1 per cent) and Yorkshire & the Humber (+ 6.2 per cent).

In the Yorkshire and the Humber region, average house prices are £183,982 which is an annual growth of 13 per cent.

Average house prices in Leeds are now at £180,700, which is a year-on-year rise of 5.9 per cent.

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Managing Director of Manning Stainton, Mark Manning, said: "The mini property boom is still very much alive across the region, and we’ve seen prices rise by more than 13 per cent compared to the same time last year, which is incredible.

"This has definitely been driven by the stamp duty holiday, but there’s also a huge shortage of supply, so even though the stamp duty holiday is now being wound down, I don’t think we’ll see the drop in activity levels that some people are predicting.

"The market may quieten down for a month or two, while people reassess what they can afford now that they’ll have to pay stamp duty again, but there is still a huge demand for property across the region, and nowhere near enough supply to satisfy it, so the market will quickly pick back up and continue to perform strongly."

Estate agents said that, with people having more flexibility around where they work, Yorkshire is a sought-after location.

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Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential, Dacre, Son & Hartley, said: “With rural and village locations in abundance, Yorkshire is certainly attracting movers both within and outside of the region.

“The proportion of prospective buyers from London and the South East who have opted to receive property opportunities has increased to almost 25 per cent, with flexible working enabling more buyers to escape the capital in search of the countryside, without losing half their week to commuting.”

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “While mortgage rates remain close to all-time lows, house prices are close to a record high relative to average incomes.

“This is important because it makes it even harder for prospective first-time buyers to raise a deposit.

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“For example, a 10 per cent deposit is over 50 per cent of a typical first-time buyer’s income.

“A potential buyer earning the average wage and saving 15 per cent of take-home pay would now take five years to raise a 10 per cent deposit.”

Mr Gardner added: “Activity will almost inevitably soften for a period after the stamp duty holiday expires at the end of September, given the strong incentive for people to bring forward their purchases to avoid the additional tax.”

He added: “Underlying demand is likely to soften around the turn of the year if unemployment rises as most analysts expect, as Government support schemes wind down.

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“But even this is far from assured. Even if the labour market does weaken, there is also scope for shifts in housing preferences as a result of the pandemic to continue to support activity for some time yet.”

From today (Thursday 1), the stamp duty holiday will be tapered, with the “nil rate” band halving from £500,000 to £250,000.

From October 1, the threshold will revert to its normal level of £125,000.

Nearly £16,000 has been added to the price tag on a home across Britain since the stamp duty holiday was first introduced in July 2020, according to a property website.

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Rightmove estimates that 1.3 million buyers have taken up the stamp duty holiday, and equivalent property tax reliefs across Britain, since last summer.

The £15,808 increase calculated by Rightmove eclipses the potential stamp duty saving of up to £15,000 that a home buyer in England or Northern Ireland could make if completing a property purchase before Thursday.