It's all going on up north

IT'S SO typical of Yorkshire: the UK's largest county is going its own way, as usual, and recording an overall property price growth of 7.1 per cent over the past 12 months, with home searches up by 11 per cent compared to last year, when they're down by minus 18 per cent in the rest of the country.

- Deborah Stone

It also has one of the best-performing rental markets in the country, partly its eight cities have either growing student populations or are enjoying the fruits of massive regeneration.

Among them is York, which recorded the strongest property price rises in 2022. Values increased by 23.1 per cent - £69,648 on average - while Leeds has been transformed over the past decade, with value growth of 15.3 per cent since December 2021.

Leeds is one of the country's most popular university towns with increasing demand for new city centre apartments and this, linked with its continued regeneration, has given it a reputation as a safe place to invest in property.