Report reveals how housing slump is hitting York, North and East Yorkshire

Sellers have seen tens of thousands of pounds wiped off the value of their homes, are having to accept offers well below their asking price and, in many cases, are having to wait more than three months to sell-up.

Estate agents today said the research, released by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly, spelled good news for people looking to move up the ladder, but brought a stark illustration of the woe facing many struggling to sell.

One said sellers had to accept the good times were largely over.

“Saying you will ride out the storm and not reduce your price is like driving with the brakes on,” said Nick Lawrence, of William H Brown, in Goodramgate, York.

“Buyers are fully aware that prices have dropped.”

The research by Hometrack appears to contradict previous Land Registry reports, on the extent of the slump, stating that house prices in Yorkshire and the Humber as a whole were still rising in late 2008.

In a sample by Hometrack, the average house price in York fell from about £216,000 in May 2008 to £210,000 in November.

Terraced houses and flats were particularly hit, falling from averages of around £187,000 and £160,000 respectively to £177,000 and £143,000 respectively.

The report, distributed by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly, also shows how difficult it is for sellers.

The ratio of sale-price to asking-price fell sharply in York. After peaking at 97 per cent in April 2007, it fell to 90 per cent, meaning a house marketed at £250,000 is likely to go for about £225,000.

Mr Lawrence said most sellers now accepted the need to lower their price, but about a third were keeping their prices optimistically-high.

Scott Anscomb, managing director and owner of Your Move Anscomb in King’s Square, York, questioned Hometrack’s sample size and said its suggestion of when the market peaked was at odds with his experience.

He said the drop in the sale-price as a percentage of asking price was accurate, but said more sellers were now swallowing their pride and cutting the price from the beginning.

“I think, generally, sellers are now more accepting of where the market has come down to,” he said. People generally recognise that the market has come down ten to 15 per cent and recognise it may have to come down another five to ten per cent.”

Buyers priced out of market

DESPITE falling house prices, many York homes are still out of reach for the majority of people in the city, according to a national trade union.

As The Press releases Government figures which show the average house price in York was £210,000 in November, new independent research from the GMB states that the average house price in York is £176,887 and that the mean gross annual salary is £31,262.

But even if a mortgage lender will let a potential buyer borrow four and a half times their wage it still leaves them with a £36,208 shortfall.

A similar pictureis evident across the rest of the county.

In North Yorkshire, Land Registry figures for November show the average house price was £184,814 with an average wage of £29,203.

In the East Riding the average house cost £149,779 while people working full time earned a mean average of £29,597.

But although someone earning the average wage may not be able to buy the average house, Scott Anscomb, the owner of Your Move Anscombs in York, said affordable homes were still available.

Mr Anscomb said that the average home would probably be too big for a single person anyway, and on a wage of £31,000 a person would be able to borrow a maximum of about £150,000, which would buy a two-bedroom house and possibly a three-bedroom house, depending on the area.

Borrowing about £115,000 would probably net them a one or two-bedroom flat.

But Mr Anscomb said the size of a person’s deposit was the most important thing, and advised responsible lending was required.

Just because a mortgage company or bank might lend up to five times a person’s wage, it was not necessarily a wise thing to do, said Mr Anscomb.

He advised anyone considering buying a home not to spend more than 40 per cent of their net income on their mortgage so as to make sure there was enough left over for council tax, utility bills, household bills and leisure.

Around the regions

HOUSE prices in Selby hit a plateau in late 2008, according to the Hometrack study, levelling of at an average of about £210,000.

The price of semi-detached properties was sitting consistently at £165,000 but terraced homes had lost £15,000 in six months, and had dropped further to an average of £140,000. The sale-price to asking-price ratio was also down, from 95 per cent in November 2007 to 87 per cent 12 months later, while the average sale time reached 11 weeks.

Tony Wallis, a branch partner at Hunters Estate Agents in Selby, said: “If someone puts their house on the market now, they are looking at three months until it sells. In good times, it was anything from a day to a month.”

In East Yorkshire, the overall average was still rising in November 2008. Terraced, semi-detached and detached houses were increasing in value of staying steady, but the average for flats fell from more than £120,000 to only over £100,000 in six months. Average sale time simultaneously rose, to 12.5 weeks.

There were similar patterns in Ryedale and Hambleton, according to Hometrack. In November 2008, they said, prices were still rising overall but the length taken to complete a sale had soared in the preceding 12 months.