THE housing market in York is defying the downward trend affecting much of the north of England and is even outperforming the south east, where prices are on the rise.

According to Land Registry data, York’s buoyant housing market has beaten London for the past 12 months as the area is increasingly recognised as one of the best places in the north to set up home.

Edward Waterson, a partner in the York office of estate agents Carter Jonas, and regional spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: “There’s been a fundamental change in York over the past two years.

“York was always second to Harrogate but now it’s regarded as one of the best places to live in the north of England.

“The £1 million house is no longer a rarity in the centre of York,” he said. “Prices are starting to exceed pre-crash levels in the centre.”

Mr Waterson also said price rises in York should not worry first-time buyers. “We aren’t losing the bottom rung,” he said.

“You can still go out and buy a nice little house within walking distance of the city centre for under £150,000. people aren’t being priced out of the bottom.”

Fellow estate agent, Ben Pridden, of Savills, in Micklegate, said: “It’s inevitable people will want to come and live here. But it’s a difficult one if you are from York and wondering if you are going to be able to afford a house.

“It’s hard for people who have saved up and are looking for their first house in the city but that is the nature, unfortunately, of a free market.”