New homes snapshot – Leeds builds homes to meet Northern Powerhouse expectation
From its roots as a major hub during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds has maintained an important commercial role, with wool and iron replaced by legal and financial services as the city forges its place in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
Its employment and education facilities provide a draw for tens of thousands daily, at the heart of a West Yorkshire Urban Area populated by nearly 1.8million. Leeds is currently working on the need of around 4,300 new homes every year to 2026 in order to keep up with demand.
Without the delivery of new homes, the city is experiencing the same as other areas around the UK, with short-term periods of activity unable to hide a dearth of existing properties coming up for sale.
Mark Manning, director of estate agents Manning Stainton in Leeds, Harrogate, Wetherby and Wakefield, was quoted recently saying: “We had the highest level of exchanges since 2006 in March, and it’s likely some of those happened sooner due to the tax change deadline. While instructions remain broadly on par with the first quarter of last year there is still the feeling that the shelves are pretty bare as we enter our busiest months of the year.”
The market is performing well, however, with Leeds sitting mid-table in the latest Hometrack UK Cities Index top 20, with an average price of £148,800, up 7.2% year-on-year and now just 2% sort of the 2007 peak.
The government’s commitment to building a ‘Northern Powerhouse’, of which Leeds would naturally aim to play a major part, has also started to bring interest from south-east Asian buyers, much as London has in recent years. The proposed HS2 rail line is promised to link to Leeds at some point, though not until around 2033 according to the latest predictions.
New homes for sale in and around Leeds:
Investment in new build Leeds property attracts a nationwide audience and Aspen Woolf is offering number of options in the city: 20/20 offers high-ceilinged apartments just 10 minutes from the city centre, from £78,950; fully refurbished student accommodation at 75 Hyde Park Road priced from £48,995; and purpose-built ‘Smart Home’ student apartments at the contemporary-designed Trinity Hall, currently from £69,995.
An alternative for investors might be Victoria House, from Experience Invest, with a guaranteed income for the first three years on one- and two-bedroom apartments now on the market from £75,950. The properties are within walking distance of the city centre and St James University Hospital.
In the south-east of Leeds in Oulton, Help to Buy is available at Applegarth Manor, a David Wilson Homes development of two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom homes priced from £199,995. The village has a useful range of local amenities and is also well linked for the city and the motorway network.
Redrow is busy in Horsforth Vale, on the city’s north-west outskirts, with a wide range of house types and prices to suit many tastes and budgets at The Green, Abode and The Limes. The site has proved so popular that Redrow has bought adjoining land on which to build more homes.
On the north bank of the River Aire, Allerton Bywater is where Keepmoat is building two- to four-bedroom homes at The Potteries, a range of contemporary designs set within lovely countryside and currently prices from £151,995.
In the eastern suburb of Seacroft, Strata has just released a new development called Ambition (following a previous success known as Flaunt) which is now open for off-plan sales, with a sales complex due in October this year. “We’re looking forward to delivering another quality scheme that will raise the profile of the Seacroft area, while encouraging commuters to an important gateway into Leeds,” says chief executive Andrew Weaver.