These Yorkshire towns saw the largest declines in property values in 2024 new index shows

Prices in the villages surrounding Leyburn, as well as in York city centre were added to the research for the first time this year.

House prices have reduced on average across Yorkshire in 2024, it said.

The most hard-hit parts of the county included Harrogate, which saw a house price reduction of 11.3 per cent, and Wetherby, where house prices dropped by 7.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the villages around Boroughbridge and also those around Thirsk managed to produce some price growth of just over four cent each.

Toby Milbank, director of The Property Partnership Group (TPPG), says: “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.”

He added: “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.”

Fellow director Tom Robinson said: “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."

As for the future, Tom adds: “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.”

Earlier this week, property website Zoopla revealed that average first-time buyer mortgage payments are 20 per cent lower than average rents across Great Britain.

The analysis assumes an average 20 per cent deposit is paid, which equates to £50,740, for a typical first-time buyer priced property at £253,700.

It is cheaper to buy than rent across all areas of the UK, with the exception of the East of England, where it is nine per cent more expensive.

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The gap between buying versus renting is the widest in the North East, where mortgage repayments are 24 per cent below rents, Followed by Yorkshire, the North West and Wales, where mortgage repayments are 21 per cent below rents.

Buying costs more than renting in 10 per cent of postal areas led by the Harrogate (HG) postal area where buying costs 15 per cent more than renting. In areas with higher house prices the cost of getting a first home is higher which prices out more first-time buyers and puts extra pressure on the rental market, pushing rents higher.

According to Rightmove, first-time buyers face paying £350 more per month on average for their mortgage than they would have done five years ago. A typical first-time buyer in Britain faces paying a mortgage of £940 per month, compared with £590 per month five years ago.

But the website said monthly mortgage payments are still £155 lower than a peak seen in July 2023 .