According to the Annual House Price Index, compiled by the region’s leading property buying agents, The Property Partnership Group, house prices have reduced on average across Yorkshire in 2024.
Every year, the business analyses actual sale prices, as recorded on Land Registry, to calculate the average price paid per square foot for property, across eight key areas in North Yorkshire; Thirsk, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Harrogate, Wetherby, Bedale, Leyburn and York.
Toby Milbank analyses the research in more detail.
“2024 will be a year that estate agents will be pleased to see the back of. House prices struggled all year. The promise of reduced interest rates held buyers back from making decisions to move house and the economic climate, amidst the UK election and global uncertainty, gave buyers the excuse to sit on their hands and wait. Only those sellers who were prepared to price their houses competitively achieved sales. There was more activity at the lower and middle ends of the market, but the top of the market was particularly sluggish.
The most hard-hit parts of the county included Harrogate (-11.3%) and Wetherby (-7.3%) whilst the Boroughbridge and Thirsk villages managed to produce some price growth of just over 4% each.
Transaction levels in January and February 2024 amounted to approximately 500 houses per month, the lowest level for the last 12 years. Fortunately, these levels have gently increased, and we are slowly returning to more normal levels of around 700 transactions per month across the county as we move into Spring.”
For the first time, prices in the villages surrounding Leyburn, as well as in York City centre have now been added to the research.
Tom Robinson comments,
“We have acted for buyers in York for many years. The city is buzzing at the moment. A walk around the city walls on a sunny day shows that the economy is faring very well. The combination of residents, the local workforce, tourism and the investment planned in the city has given it the edge over Harrogate, not only in terms of house prices but also in terms of desirability. It is not surprising to see that prices in York have now outstripped Harrogate and until significant investment is made in Harrogate, this is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Looking to the future, the fresh shoots of spring are arriving in more ways than one. Buyers seem more accepting of the “new normal” in terms of interest rates, sellers have become more realistic and the number of transactions that are currently being agreed are increasing steadily. We expect prices to recover their lost ground during 2025, but we need to see average earnings increase, stability in the SME sector that generates a large number of buyers across the county and global security before any significant gains are seen.”
