Spring 2023 Market Update
House prices in North Yorkshire were 7.9% higher, year on year, according to the Land Registry’s last report. Annual growth peaked in September at 13.7%. The current back drop of double-digit inflation and continuous increases of interest rates is putting downward pressure on the residential property market.
Locally, January saw most districts contract in terms of monthly growth. We are waiting for February’s figures, although we are expecting a similar pattern.
Values in the best rural locations grew exponentially post Covid down to an extraordinary supply of “hot buyers” from across the country, creating an extremely competitive marketplace. House prices in North Yorkshire grew by 21.9% from June 2020 to January 2023 (Land Registry). Savills is forecasting values in the Prime Housing Market in The Midlands and The North will fall by 5% this year, but along with Prime Central London they will grow by over 13% to the end of 2027, stronger than anywhere else in the UK.
Hewetson and Johnson is still agreeing sales, despite the cooling headwind, from a development site near Scotch Corner which attracted competitive bids, to the purchase of a house more than £5 million in North Yorkshire. It is not the time to push boundaries where price is concerned, but correctly priced property is still selling both on and off market.
We are entering the traditional “selling season”, the fruit trees are blossoming, and our days are getting longer. There is little choice for purchasers and despite the news, families are moving, many from as far away as the US and Asia. We have buyers at most price points in our marketplace, and frankly not a lot so show them, we have sold or agreed sales on most of what we had to offer.
Ben Pridden, Sales Director, comments, “For those buyers prepared to wait there may well be a saving on price later this year, that said most appear keen not to miss the right house now and will take a view. Locally the best homes are rare, and demand usually outstrips supply.
There are a few homes coming to the market at unrealistic levels currently, and they are struggling to sell. When the pendulum swings towards a buyers’ market, there is no room for overly ambitious pricing. For the first time in a while, buyers are pressing me on price, and I have to be able to give them the comfort that our guides are founded on sound knowledge and current comparable evidence.”