House prices in York have continued to grow but at a slower rate, latest figures show.
The data from May 2023 shows the average price of a property in the city has increased by £9,050 (3%), according to property website Zoopla.
That means the annual income a household would need to buy a property in the city is now £57,900.
The Office for National Statistics shows the median household disposable income (after-tax income) in the UK was £32,300.
In April 2023, however, the annual house price growth was at four per cent, showing the rate of growth has slowed down.
The change in annual house prices was £11,750, which is a £2,700 difference from May.
Meanwhile, the average house price in York dropped slightly from £306,900 to £306,500.
Nothing affordable to rent
Fiona McCulloch, chief officer at Citizens Advice’s York bureau, said the high house prices have a knock-on effect on rental prices.
“It’s virtually impossible to rent privately for anything affordable at the moment,” she said.
“It is driving people out of the city.
“York is quite unique in that it has a big gig economy because of the amount of hospitality in York.
“So that’s further putting pressure on people who are in insecure employment or low wages and are therefore not able to rent anywhere and certainly not buy anywhere near the centre.
“That’s putting further pressure on their finances as they have to try to travel into York, which isn’t very cheap.”
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Ms MuCulloch added: “Fixing it is difficult.
“The tourism industry in York is further pressuring it.
“I think a lot of the Cornish and Devonian councils are doing a good thing by trying to limit the amount of housing that gets sold.”
The Department for Levelling Up, which is responsible for housing, insists there is help for people wanting to buy a home.
A government spokesperson said: “Supporting aspiring homeowners is a government priority.
“Since 2010, over 837,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through government-backed schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy.”
However, the Help to Buy scheme closed to new applicants in October 2022.
The spokesperson added: “We have extended the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme a year further to December 2023.
“This has already helped over 35,000 households with five per cent deposits and we are progressing the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to speed up the planning system, cutting unnecessary delays so we can build more homes.
“We are committed to delivering 300,000 new homes per year and are investing £11.5 billion to build the affordable, quality homes this country needs.”
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