York property market still buoyant - but prices may be 'levelling out'

There is some sign that prices at the higher end - for properties above £1 million - may be cooling off.

But York estate agent Ben Hudson of Hudson Moody says that demand for properties priced below £350,000 remains high.

"There is a shortage of housing in York - the problem is that there is just not enough property available," he said.

Ben Hudson (Image: Supplied)

"So the market is still incredibly buoyant for properties below £350,000."

When it comes to properties in that price range, buying a house is actually cheaper than renting in York, says Mr Hudson - for those who can afford the deposit. And that's despite recent rise in mortgage rates.

His company deals with both the letting market and property sales.

And while rent on a one-bed flat in York can be as high as £700-£800 a month, depending on location, the mortgage on a similar flat might be more like £650-£700.

"The problem is getting the deposit," Mr Hudson said. For many, the only way of doing that was by turning to the 'bank of mum and dad'.

For properties above £350,000, there is some sign that the market is beginning to slow a little in terms of the number of properties being bought and sold, Mr Hudson said.

These are more 'aspirational' properties - where people want to move into a bigger home. They represent a big investment. "So at the moment there may be a bit of 'wait and see', he said.

There are also some signs that generally, across the market, house price rises may be beginning to slow down.

Prices in York are generally about 10 per cent up on what they were a year ago, Mr Hudson said.

But recently, prices have stopped rising. "They are not falling, but they are levelling out a bit."

That appears to be most acute at the upper end of the market, for properties worth £1 million or more.

There is still demand in York for such properties. According to research by auctioneer and home-buying company Property Solvers, in the last year alone, up to the beginning of this month, there were 37 properties sold in York with a £1 million-plus price tag.

Nevertheless, Property Solvers says, the most expensive homes in the city have seen quite a big drop in value. The combined sale value of those 37 properties was £51.6 million. But Property Solvers estimates that if they had been sold a year earlier, they would have been worth £79.5 million. That's a combined drop in value of almost £28 million - a fall of about 35 per cent.

Property Solvers co-founder, Ruban Selvanayagam, said: “Such a pronounced drop would suggest that buyer appetite for these types of homes is decreasing.

“£1 million-plus properties - even for the wealthy - are a major commitment and (are) affected by the wider economy."

Ben Hudson of Hudson Moody stressed that his company had not yet seen evidence of such a significant fall in the price of the most expensive homes. "But we expect to start seeing it," he admitted.