Yorkshire property market update

The major property portals have published some interesting data and analysis, with Rightmove recording a January boom in traffic and sales agreed, while Zoopla pinpointed the first-time buyer hotspots in each region.Visits to Rightmove surpassed 150 million for the first time in January, making it the busiest month ever recorded as home-hunters looked to take advantage of a more certain political outlook.There were more than 152 million visits to the portal last month, a seven per cent increase on January 2019. The previous record for the busiest month was in May 2019.The top five most active days ever on Rightmove were all between January 21st and 29th, with Wednesday, the 29th topping the list. There were over 5.7 million visits on that day, up nine per cent on the previous record set back on April 24th, 2019. Time spent by home hunters on the site was up four per cent, with people clocking up a total of 1.17 billion minutes.The number of sales being agreed by agents was up 12 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, the biggest year-on-year jump in any month since July 2017. London saw the biggest uplift, up 26 per cent year-on-year, followed by the East of England, up 20 per cent.Sales agreed in the north of England also saw a year-on-year rise but it was more subdued. The North East led with an increase of 14 per cent, followed by the North West with 10 per cent. Yorkshire saw a five per cent rise in sales agreed in January this year compared to January 2019.Rightmove Director and Housing Market Analyst Miles Shipside said: “Home-movers have sprung into action in 2020, with a large number of agents telling us that sales and valuations have picked up significantly in their local areas. There’s still an imbalance, with demand growing at a faster rate than new supply.”Over at Zoopla, number crunching has revealed Britain’s most popular locations for first-time buyers and how much it costs to buy a first home in each area.The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is Britain’s most popular location for those looking to buy their first home. The most in-demand property type for first-timers is a three-bed terraced house with an average value of £300,000 and those looking to buy their first home would need a deposit of £45,000 and an income of £56,667 per year to satisfy mortgage lenders.In Yorkshire, Bradford is the most popular area with those looking to take their first step on the property ladder. The district covers the city and surrounding towns and villages, including Shipley, Bingley, Keighley Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden, Queensbury, Thornton and Denholme.While Ilkley house prices are a barrier for most first-timers, they have hunted down property in the less expensive Bradford district locations.The average price they pay is £110,000 for a three-bedroom semi. The average deposit paid is 15 per cent, which is £16,500 and the income required to service the mortgage is £20,778.In the North West, Oldham is being targeted by would-be buyers and the average price paid is £120,000. Up in the North East, Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the top spot and the average first-time buyer pays £120,00.The most popular first-time areas all share one common characteristic – they are within reach of the UK’s biggest cities but still relatively affordable.