AN ESTATE agent in York has found that almost one fifth of its buyers last year commuted to London for work.

Research from Savills York revealed that 17 per cent of those who bought a home through them in 2019 classed London as their main place of work.

Ben Pridden, head of residential sales at Savills in Yorkshire, said: “We are seeing an upward trend in buyers moving to Yorkshire from London and the south east each year, with most opting to live in York and surrounding villages due to the city’s culture and history combined with its excellent links to London via the East Coast Main Line train service in just over two hours. These direct links mean that buyers are able to continue reaping the rewards of working in London whilst benefitting from the key fundamentals of value for money, quality of life, good schools and transport connections."

He said latest forecasts indicated house prices across Yorkshire would rise by two per cent in 2020, with five-year growth of 21.6 per cent by 2024, compared to 15. per cent across the UK as a whole. "It is therefore no surprise that there is an increasing trajectory in the number of buyers looking to move to the county from other parts of the UK.”

The research also found 11 per cent of those buying through Savills York in 2019 specified ‘home’ as their main work base, while 38.6 percent were cash buyers.

“Our list of applicants continues to grow but stock is lower than usual, though the new year has brought with it a number of new launches. There are buyers out there ready and waiting, and many are prepared to pay cash so there is no time like the present if you are thinking of bringing your home to the market this year. Many sellers think it is best to wait until Spring, but the first few months of the year have historically been some of our busiest so we would advise acting now to avoid missing out on a large pool of potential buyers.”