Good news for Yorkshire's property market as estate agents share why they are optimistic

Yorkshire estate agents report that the region’s market seems to be stabilising and entering its traditionally busy spring season.

Mark Manning, managing director of Manning Stainton, says: “Looking ahead, we expect momentum to continue, potentially with even greater price growth.”

He adds: “The confluence of factors in resilient demand, constrained supply, and supportive lending conditions, will sustain the upward trajectory of house prices. We anticipate growth of between five and seven per cent over the course of the year, reflecting a stable yet dynamic market.”

Dacre, Son & Hartley, which has 18 offices across West and North Yorkshire says it has seen a 15 per cent increase in homes for sale and agreed 33 per cent more sales during January and February 2025, than during the same period in 2024.

Patrick McCutcheon, the firm’s head of residential, says: “Base rates are now far more competitive, with some lenders offering mortgage products below four per cent, and the UK has a more stable political environment and sense of direction.”

He adds: “The upper sectors of the market remain more challenging and I believe this is down to business owners and decision makers holding back, as they wait to see the effect of the forthcoming tax changes on business profitability and the economy as a whole.”

According to Edward Hartshorne, managing director at Blenkin & Co, the impact of higher interest rates is affecting houses priced between £1.25m and £2m where he says borrowing has become too expensive to bear. In contrast the £750,000 to £1.25m market is performing very well, as is the £2m plus market, he says.

He adds that the country market, typically more active in the spring and summer, is beginning to stir from its winter slumber.

"An optimism seems to be carrying today’s property market and March has been, for Blenkin & Co, a remarkable month with a raft of bids landing on the table and sales agreed,” he says. “Buyers may be thin on the ground but the individual performance is top-notch.

"Herd behaviour leads to people buying and selling when everyone around them does; they watch their neighbour and then make a move; it’s infectious, particularly in the spring. Blenkin & Co is selling two adjacent townhouses in York and two houses facing each other on a village street.”

Nil rate stamp duty discounts in England and Northern Ireland shrunk this week, with first-time buyers seeing the zero rate threshold reduce from £425,000 to £300,000 and home movers seeing theirs halve from £250,000 to £125,000.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla says housing market activity continues to increase despite the ending of stamp duty relief. "Zoopla's latest data shows sales agreed up five per cent year-on-year, with many more homes for sale,” he says.

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Simon Blyth, of the Simon Blyth group of estate agencies, which covers West and South Yorkshire, says: "I don’t think the number of first time buyers will dry up following the stamp duty changes. They will try to get a better deal and vendors have got to consider that first time buyers will be a bit more under pressure from a financial point of view so they’ll have to offer a better deal too.”

Jonathan Morgan, a partner at Zenko City Living in Leeds, says: “Frankly, it is almost impossible for most people to navigate the complexities of falling inflation, poor economic growth forecasts and the latest MPC decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

"In all our years in property, however, we can barely remember a spring without a property bounce, and we see no reason why, in the settled world of post stamp duty changes, that confidence won't spike followed by increased activity, particularly amongst renters and first-time buyers.”

Speaking about the rentals market, Richard Waterton, of Blenkin & Co Lettings, adds: "High end rentals - particularly rural properties - traditionally pick up in spring after a long hibernation over the winter.

"Void periods generally become shorter as the days get longer with more tenants looking for properties with larger gardens and opportunities for outdoor living. Tenants inevitably act decisively as momentum builds and competition hots up."