City named as one of the country’s best bets for property investors (From York Press)

City named as one of the country’s best bets for property investors

9:06am Thursday 21st February 2008 in News By Ron Godfrey

York is one of the best places in Britain to make a property investment - in spite of gathering economic storm clouds.

The city is listed second only to Cambridge in a top 20 of cities and towns where property buying is a "failsafe" investment.

The list has been drawn up by researchers at national estate agency Knight Frank, who found that whether buying to live in or rent out, York property has a lot going for it.

Liam Bailey, head of research at Knight Frank, gave high ratings to York's attractive, historic city centre, its good links to London - roughly two hours by train - and its relatively small supply of housing stock in the heart of the city.

There was also the relative ease with which commuters can reach other towns and cities, and he cited good schooling as a reason for York being a coveted place to live.

The Knight Frank research ranked the top 20 based on factors including the affordability of housing, wages, unemployment figures and population growth.

York-based developer The Skelwith Group has backed up these findings, with two recent high-profile schemes in the city centre being snapped up by investors within days of hitting the market.

All 19 flats in an ambitious development in Clarence Gardens were sold by the group to investors within four days, despite it not being completed until November.

Another development, of 23 flats in The Rise, has also been successfully sold "off plan" - before they were built - highlighting the strong interest in investing in good quality York property.

Paul Ellis, The Skelwith Group's managing director, said: "The York housing market remains very healthy, despite some dark predictions about the national picture.

"With good transport links and limited housing available in the heart of the city, the market is still very much on an upward curve, and remains a sound investment for all types of property.

"Finding good quality sites is fast becoming the biggest issue as we have investors desperate to buy new build property in all areas of the city."

Cambridge came first in the Knight Frank list, with Oxford, Milton Keynes and Guildford also in the top five.