Sheffield property: Number of buyers and renters asking about moving out of city increases as do house prices

Enquiries to property website Rightmove about leaving the city rose from 45 per cent in 2020 to around 52 per cent in 2022, according to the company’s latest price index.

It also shows enquiries about rental properties looking to leave Sheffield rose from 35 per cent in 2020 to 48 per cent in 2022.

Factors include a lack of property stock in the city, rising prices and the end of the stamp duty freeze which means tax must now be paid on all purchases over £125,000.

The statistics come as the average house price in Yorkshire rose to a record £234,978, an increase of almost 10 per cent compared to last year.

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Nationally, the average asking price of a house hit a new record, pushing over the £360,000 mark, an increase of £19,082 over the past three months.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data, said: “With three new monthly price records in a row, 2022 has started with price rise momentum even greater than during the stamp duty holiday-fuelled market of last year.

“While growing affordability constraints mean that this momentum is not sustainable for the longer term, the high demand from a large number of buyers chasing too few properties for sale has led to a spring price frenzy, a hat-trick of record price months, and the largest price increase for a three-month period Rightmove has ever recorded.

“The strong momentum has carried over from last year and, combined with the impetus of the spring moving season, has delivered the quickest selling market we've ever seen.

“The high speed of the market and competition among buyers when making an onward move will be deterring some owners from putting their homes up for sale.

“However, if you can secure both a quick sale and a quick purchase then it's a lot less stressful than the uncertainties of a slower market when finding a buyer for your own home can drag on for months or not happen at all.”

Mr Bannister added: “The economic headwinds of strongly rising inflation and modestly rising interest rates are being kept at bay by the even stronger tailwind of property market momentum that has carried over from last year.

“2021 saw four consecutive monthly price records from April through to July and I would not bet against that being bettered this year as we are already at three consecutive records in April.

“There are some early signs of an easing off from the frenetic pace of price rises, and buyer inquiries to agents are down by 16 per cent on last year's stamp-duty frenzy.

“However incredibly, buyer inquiries are still 65 per cent above the more normal market of 2019 and the number of sales agreed is up 21 per cent.”

He added: “With the demand and supply imbalance being so out of kilter, it looks like any substantial slowdown will be gradual in coming and be a soft rather than hard landing.”

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