Yorkshire property boom as sales exceed the £5.5bn mark

Search Acumen’s analysis of HM Land Registry (HMLR) data for 2018 shows that transactions across the region were up five per cent on the previous year despite political uncertainty.

Leeds saw the highest amount of investment into commercial real estate, a total of £1.65bn, making it the third highest area in the country for investment behind London and Manchester.

It was nearly twice as much as Sheffield at £829m, and nearly five times as much as Kirklees (£319m).

Bradford was second to Leeds in terms of volume of sales. It saw 1,465 transactions, following Leeds’ 2,072 figure.

Calderdale saw the highest growth of investment over the past two years, more than doubling in size from £198m to £294m.

Meanwhile, Richmondshire (- 34 per cent) Rotherham (- 34 per cent) and Ryedale (- 19 per cent) all saw the value of sales fall between 2016 and 2018.

The biggest transaction was in Sheffield for £173.8m, followed by Halifax for £136.2m, Scunthorpe (£51.7m), and Sheffield (£48.1m).

Caroline Robinson, commercial real estate business development manager at Search Acumen, said: “Yorkshire’s commercial real estate sector had a healthy growth spurt over the past two years, and continues to defy all expectations levied against the sector since the EU referendum.

“Leading the charge is Leeds, which has seen the biggest jump in total transaction values over the past two years, after only Central London. The overall market slipped back slightly in 2018, but Yorkshire does not seem to be hampered by Brexit.

“Sheffield and Bradford are other examples of great growth in the region, being second behind Leeds in transaction value and volumes respectively.”

She added: “In 2019 and beyond there are likely going to be a couple of challenges for commercial real estate, however, as national indicators for construction are stagnant and demand for retail and office spaces is grinding to a halt.

“While HS2 is set to unlock opportunities for Yorkshire and Northern England, the demand for residential property is likely to rise faster than the one for commercial property, and we’ll see an increase in redevelopments over the next couple of years.”