House prices in Yorkshire rising £12 a day

House prices in Yorkshire have increased by £12 per day on average since the start of the year.
Emma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decadeEmma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decade
Emma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decade

Prices in the region rose an average of £2,263 in the first half of this year, according to analysis by Zoopla.

In January, the average house price in Yorkshire was £181,918 but, by July, this had increased to £184,181, defying economic naysaying over the looming impact of leaving the EU.

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Emma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decadeEmma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decade
Emma Atkinson and Stewart Oldfield have been renting in Leeds for more than a decade

Compared to other regions of the UK, Yorkshire house prices are performing very well.

The West Midlands was Britain's best-performing region, with the average value of homes increasing by £36.58 per day, and London was the worst performer, with average property values falling by an enormous £71.23 per day.

Though Yorkshire as a whole saw price rises, on a local level, prices were a mixed bag, as the analysis showed a lot of variation between different areas.

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The best performer was Harrogate, where house prices rose a whopping £46.22 a day, followed by Keighley, rising by £37.10 a day, and Dewsbury, rising by £35.39 a day.

On the other end of the scale, prices were dropping in some areas. Halifax saw the biggest drop, where prices fell an average of £24.82 a day, followed by Barnsley falling £19.69 a day and York, dropping by £5.84 a day.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential sales at Dacre, Son & Hartley, which covers North and West Yorkshire, predicted rises could continue.

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He added: “The residential property market responds well to clarity and direction, and hopefully some of the Brexit related concerns will reduce now we have a new Prime Minister who appears to be certain about his direction of travel, which could be good for the market moving forward.”

While generally this is great news for homeowners in Yorkshire, price rises mean it can be difficult for young people who are trying to get on the property ladder.

Emma Atkinson, 30, has been renting for 12 years and is keen to buy in the near future.

Currently, she rents a house in Horsforth, Leeds, with her partner Stewart Oldfield, 33, paying £700 a month between them.

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She said the rise, which averages £9.18 a day in Leeds, “makes buying a house feel increasingly unattainable”, as wages are failing to keep up with house prices rises.

“The biggest challenge for me is not having enough savings for a deposit,” Ms Atkinson said. She works as a buyer at the University of Leeds and Mr Oldfield is an engineer.

“I had already accepted that I would never be able to buy a house if I were to buy on my own. But it's still difficult to save enough money between two people.”

Ms Atkinson told the Yorkshire Post not only is it difficult finding spare money while also paying rent, it can be frustrating trying to save for a deposit on a property while also trying to plan for the future.

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“The act of saving for a house is in direct contention with the advice given to increase our pension contributions so that we can afford some form of retirement,” she said.

Ms Atkinson said she tries to stay positive, knowing other young people are in a less fortunate position.

She adds: “At times it can be really frustrating that we are a couple in our thirties who don't own a house. However, it's important to remember that there are people in this country relying on food banks, people having their benefits cut and people being made homeless. We are thankful for what we have.”