HOUSE prices in York have soared in the past year - with first time buyers spending an average of £24,000 more on buying a home than they were 12 months ago.

And property prices across the city have risen by an average of 11.4 per cent since April 2020.

Ben Hudson, from estate agency Hudson Moody, said he is seeing buyers places bids that are above the asking price for properties - driving up house prices.

He said: "Many houses that we thought were correctly priced have gone for higher than the asking price. The market has driven the prices up.

"It's the busiest I have seen it since the 1980s."

He said reasons for the rise include people moving to York from London and the south east as a result of being able to work from home. Buyers selling up in the south tend to have a bigger budget.

He added that people are keen to move as a result of the pandemic, for reasons including because they want to downsize, because they have been living with their parents or because they want to move to a more rural location.

There is also less supply than demand - which can push up prices.

Popular areas include Poppleton, Dunnington, Bishopthorpe and South Bank such as Bishopthorpe Road.

He said there is also increasing interest in buying apartments: "We are finding that city living, now that it is reopening, is starting to come back. Certainly during lockdown, apartments were slow. Apartments can be a good way of getting on the housing ladder."

Land Registry figures show the average York house price in April 2021 was £286,987.

In the past year, properties in the city have sold for an average of £29,000 more than 12 months earlier.

Semi detached houses have seen the biggest price rise - but the cost of detached homes, terraced housing and flats have all risen.

First-time buyers in York spent an average of £246,000 on their property – £24,000 more than a year ago, and £46,000 more than in April 2016.

The average house price in York of £286,987 is higher than the national average of £250,772.

Mr Hudson said: "Last year on March 23 none of us knew what was going to happen, I certainly wouldn't have predicted this.

"Since we reopened, it's been crazy. I think a lot of people are reassessing where they are living and a lot of people from the likes of London have been told they don't need to come into the office anymore."

He said he suspects the market will slow down but that York has a strong housing market and prices are unlikely to fall.

The most expensive properties in Yorkshire and The Humber are in Harrogate, costing £298,000 on average.