Local market report and housing update
Winter 2022/23
Snapshot & Location
Harrogate, a Victorian spa town on the edge of both the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a popular location to live and visit. Much of its heritage stems from spa waters discovered in the early 16th century and it has been inhabited as Harrogate since at least the 17th century. As such, the town is dotted with grand Georgian and Victorian architecture including beautiful metropolitan town homes while also having idyllic country cottages just outside the main town centre.
Location Map
Local demographics & economic trends
The population of Harrogate has grown slowly over the last decade, rising by just 2% in the last ten years to 2022, with current estimates putting the number ofresidents? in the area at 160,997. Looking ahead, expected growth is set to remain slow with a rise of just over 300 people expected in the next ten years. Similarly, the wider North Yorkshire area is also expected to see just a small rise of around 2% over the next ten years, to just over 638,000 people in the whole of this Shire county. This low population density across the wide, sprawling and idyllic landscape is a huge part of the draw to the area.
There are estimated to be just over 70,000 households in Harrogate, of which 67% are owner occupiers, with a further 23% in the private rented sector.
Connectivity
The Borough of Harrogate is served by four railway stations with regular services to nearby Leeds and York with a further direct service to London King’s Cross. The A1(M) motorway lies just around 10 miles to the east of the city, with A roads linking Harrogate to Leeds and York.
The wider Harrogate area is home to dozens of primary and secondary educational facilities of all types, including independent, state, faith, and preparatory / private.
The local Housing Market
Sales Market
Average house prices by property type and location
Harrogate
Leeds
England and Wales
Detached
Semi-detached
Terraced
Flat
Overall Average
£577,031
£340,561
£277,642
£194,009
£345,997
£457,653
£264,526
£201,733
£157,365
£245,208
£488,076
£298,211
£253,644
£253,542
£311,074
Source: HM Land Registry (October 2022, latest data)
"we expect prices to fall by around 4% throughout the course of the year, across both Harrogate and
nearby Leeds"
Chart
Chart
Rental Market
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics and the Valuation Office (Q1 2022) notes that average rents in Harrogate are £891 per calendar month (pcm) with the upper quartile reaching an average of £950 pcm. Rents in the area are typically around 22% higher than the wider North Yorkshire region, reflecting the high demand for such a prestigious and aspirational area of Harrogate.
Harrogate
Harrogate has good commuter services and is located within easy distance to Leeds, Bradford, and York. It is surrounded by the Yorkshire Dales and has a rich architectural heritage in the city centre, as well as many well-kept parks and gardens. It is still a popular location for spas and baths while also being well-known for its shopping and high quality restaurants and cafes. It is one of the most sought-after places to live in the North of England, regularly attracting affluent professionals and families alike.
Properties in and around Harrogate range from metropolitan, Victorian or Georgian style town homes to Grade II listed properties, detached country estates, substantially large, detached family homes with sprawling gardens, to spacious new builds and premium, converted flats.
This is not surprising given that Harrogate has a strong hotel, conference and exhibition industry, regularly drawing over 300,000 visitors a year. Of occupations, over 58% of employees in Harrogate are classified in Managerial, Directorial, Professional or Associate Professional occupations.
Aside from being a spa town and popular conference centre, Harrogate is home to many bespoke and well-known food companies such as Yorkshire Tea, Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, and Harrogate Spring Water. It is also a hub of the regional agricultural industry which sustains much of the North Yorkshire and wider Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Location based on nearby top-performing primary and secondary schools is often a very strong factor in deciding where to move and locate, with proximity to the best schools strongly correlated to local average house prices. Research has shown that homes located near top-performing schools can add anywhere from £30,000 - £60,000 to home values. There are 18 ’Outstanding’ schools in and around Harrogate, of which four are state secondary schools. There are also a further nine independent / preparatory (private) schools.
The average house price in Harrogate is currently just under £346,000, reflecting an annual rise of 13.3% and adding an additional £40,678 to the value of an average home in the area. In nearby Leeds, there has been a similar 14.6% increase in house prices over the last 12 months although Leeds has experienced much greater price growth since the start of the pandemic: between February 2020 and current prices, Leeds has seen a 30% growth in house prices, compared with 19% in Harrogate. This was a result of exceptionally high demand over that period for homes that were in very well priced and affordable locations. Prior to the pandemic, average house prices in Leeds were just over £188,000 compared with an average price of £290,000 in Harrogate, at the same time.
The Local Housing Market
Average house price
Average house price growth
Average rent
(£ per calendar month)
Annual rental growth
Gross Yield
£345,997
13.3%
11%
£896
3.1%
Sources: HM Land Registry (October 2022, latest data), REalyse
More timely data (end 2022) finds that average rents in Harrogate have continued to rise albeit slowly, moving to an average of £896 pcm (REalyse). Over the last year, rents in the area have grown by over 11% which has in turn pushed gross yields out further as well. Yields are now around 3.1%, up from 2.7% the year before. Looking ahead, we expect that rents will continue to rise although we anticipate more modest growth of between 4 and 6% over the coming 12 months.
Sources used: Carter Jonas Research, Experian, Google maps, HM Land Registry, Office for National Statistics, REalyse, Rightmove
Notes: REalyse rental data 12-month rolling average
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Email me
01423 523423
Sales
Tony Wright
Email me
01423 523423
Sales
Simon Wright
For further information, please get in touch with one of our local experts
Harrogate has a much lower unemployment rate than the surrounding region and national average, at just 2.7%. Conversely, their employment level is over 80.5% compared with 75.5% nationally. The largest proportion of those employed in the area come from the wholesale and retail trades, accounting for just over 15% of those employed with a further 11.5% being in the accommodation and food services industries.
The chart above shows just how strong demand and levels of transactions were across both Harrogate and Leeds during the ‘pandemic period’ and over the course of the stamp duty rate cut in 2020 and 2021. During 2021 alone average monthly sales in Harrogate were 27% above their long-term average. Although sales have moderated since that period, this level of demand naturally put upward pressure squarely on house prices over that timeframe.
Looking ahead, we expect that while overall sales levels will remain below-average for much of 2023, by the end of the year, when mortgage rate levels have stabilised, they will rebound to their longer-run averages. As such we expect prices to fall by around 4% throughout the course of the year, across both Harrogate and nearby Leeds.
Notes: Rental ratesareas: five-mile radius from centre. Projected house price
growth, incomes and demographics data, areas: Respective local authority
2032 forecast
population
(number)
161,340
Ten-year forecast population
(% change)
0.2%
Proportion of population who are owner occupiers
67%
Proportion of
population who are private renters
23%
Average annual
income
(2022, provisional)
£39,310
Five-year projected house price growth (cumulative)
-1.8%
Local market report and housing update
Winter 2022/23