Our Chairman John Reeves featured recently in The Yorkshire Post, here’s his round up of the property market for 2018.
What are the prospects for the property sector in Yorkshire and Humber?
Yorkshire is incredibly diverse and location has never been more important as we head into the New Year. The UK property market continues to polarise outside London and the best areas are performing well, whilst other less desirable places underperform. This is a picture that’s repeated across Yorkshire.
The York market is particularly strong at present, especially for the best quality stock. Record prices are being achieved in the City and as always exact locations are a key driver. We’re seeing that quality also affects the price tag – both from a developer point of view and for home buyers.
What is the best project you have been involved in?
The most interesting project was definitely Lendal Tower, a scheduled ancient monument which we converted to homes. The best ‘feel good’ factor development has definitely been the conversion of commercial office buildings at Clifton Moor to new homes, which gives first time buyers the chance to get on the York housing ladder through the Help to Buy scheme. York’s Westgate residential development was also a real milestone for us.
What is your favourite building in the region and why?
It has to be York Minster – it kickstarted the entire historic attraction of York, spearheaded the way for millions of tourists through the City and where else has such an amazing building at its heart?
If you could change one thing to improve the property industry in this region, what would it be?
The Planning system; in my view it’s a disgrace and is the biggest obstacle to supplying much needed new homes quickly across our region.
Whom has inspired you?
Ernest Shackleton – the explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic – no matter what he kept moving forward and ultimately succeeded on his quest.