Sheffield property: City centre new-build homes are more affordable by £50,000 than the suburbs

Sheffield’s commuter belt is home to a new-build house price premium of 22 per cent when compared to the average value of a new home within the city itself.

The difference can mean up to £50,000, according to data comes new-build sales optimisation platform Unlatch, which reveals how homebuyers can save money by opting for a new home within a major city centre.

Unlatch analysed current new-build property values in 12 major cities across Britain, comparing this cost of climbing the ladder to the average new-build house price in the surrounding local authorities.

Its figures show Sheffield’s average new-build house price was £234,449, compared to the suburbs, where the price was £285,175.

This put Sheffield third on a list of the most affordable major city new-build market which was topped by Nottingham. The average Nottingham new-build commands £233,047 in the current market, whilst the average cost of purchasing a new home in the Nottingham commuter belt is 33 per cent higher at £310,213.

Lee Martin, head of UK for Unlatch, said: “Urban living isn’t everyone's cup of tea, but the high cost of homeownership has traditionally pushed many aspirational buyers from the inside out, looking to the commuter belt for a greater level of affordability.

“However, this long term trend has driven heightened levels of house price growth in these ‘next best’ areas and, more recently, a reduction in demand for homes within our major city centres has also reduced as a result of the pandemic.

“The upshot is that now there are a number of major cities where buyers can secure a new home for a better price than they may find across the commuter belt.”

The figures come as a separate survey put Sheffield in the top 10 cities for property price rises in the last 20 years. The city was seventh on a list headed by Manchester in new research by plumbing and heating supplies firm Plumbnation.

It compiled data which put the average price in Sheffield in 2002 at £59,604. By this year, that figure had risen to £199,058 – an increase of 233.97 per cent.

In the same period, prices in Manchester went from £48,845 to £210,647 – a 331.26 per cent increase.