Property market in Pontefract is thriving thanks to local buyers who stay loyal

Pontefract may not attract many buyers from London and the South East with big budgets like the honeypot towns in North Yorkshire but what it has is priceless while costing “nowt”.

“It is a really friendly place. You walk down the street and people smile and say ‘hello’. It’s a lovely place to work because of that,” says Rosie Hutt of Enfields estate agents.

The sense of community in the town and its surrounding villages is one of the reasons why many stay put. Another is Pontefract’s transport links and its amenities. It has railway stations connecting to York, Sheffield, Wakefield, Leeds and London. Other attributes include close proximity to both the M62 and the A1M, which mean you can be in the Yorkshire Dales within an hour, Leeds city centre in half an hour and York in 40 minutes, traffic permitting.

There is a good selection of independent shops, along with an Asda, Morrisons and Tesco plus a Marks and Spencer food hall and open and indoor markets. Its schools are rated “Good” with New College sixth form college rated “Outstanding”.

Its beautiful racecourse brings visitors in, as do the historic ruins of Pontefract Castle and the liquorice festival, which celebrates what is undoubtedly the town’s greatest invention “Pontefract Cakes” also known as Pomfret Cakes”. The liquorice sweets, born in 1790, are still made in the town.

While most of those trading up and down the property ladder are from within the area, there are others who move to “Ponte Carlo” for work and to find better value for money. “We have people from York moving here, especially if they are looking for somewhere with land and outbuildings because the prices here are so much lower than the York area,” says Rosie Hutt.

Estate agent and valuer Claire Kendall of the Richard Kendall estate agency says: “From our current sale stock over 75 per cent of our buyers are local, with the rest largely coming from the West Yorkshire region.”

Such is the strength of the market, Claire says that many buyers are in a position to proceed straight away as they have already sold, have mortgages in place or are cash buyers. She says: “The market is strong throughout the WF postcode area and we are seeing a surge in demand from first-time buyers, to investors and those looking for their forever home. Viewing requests have been consistently 20 to 30 per cent higher than the same period last year and we are seeing higher volumes of requests for valuations. Our sales are strong and rental properties are also seeing a surge.”

Prices in the town range from flats at £80,000 and terraced houses from £100,000 to semi-detached homes from £150,000. At the top of the market, five-bedroom Cavendish House is £800,000.

Prices in most WF postcode areas, including Pontefract, have risen between five and 10 per cent this year, says Claire Kendall. The south side of town and attractive satellite villages are most sought-after. Kendalls data shows that Darrington has seen prices rise by an average 15 per cent as a result. Other popular villages include Ackworth, Wentbridge, Thorpe Audlin, Carleton and Badsworth.

“While the market remains buoyant and properties continue to come to the market, we may see further rises as we approach the end of the year and into 2021,” says Claire. “After that, much will depend on the possible extension of the stamp duty holiday and potential job retention plans."

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