It's no secret that city centre property prices have dropped during the pandemic as rural and coastal towns became the new hotspots for working from home.
Because of this, many city centres have become a little more affordable for people looking to get on the property ladder. In fact, the latest figures from Rightmove reveal that the average property price in central Leeds and central Sheffield fell by 4% between January and April of this year.
In central Sheffield, a typical one or two-bed flat will now set you back around £125,00. In central Leeds, where the average property price has dropped by around £6,000 since the start of the year, a two-bed flat with a balcony is achievable on a £160,000 budget.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
This is comfortably under the average property price in England as a whole, which now stands at £267,000.
The average property price in central Nottingham dropped by 3% in the same period, while the average property price in central Cardiff dipped by 2%.
In London and Manchester, they remained static between January and April of this year. Sadly, properties in these cities are also much less affordable: the average property price in London is still an eye-watering £470,000.
Check out average property prices (and how much they've dropped) in Rightmove's list of the best value cities below.
However, property prices in other city centres including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Oxford and York actually began to creep up during this period, suggesting the market may be shifting again.
Tim Bannister of Rightmove in response to the latest property prices: "These are early signs but they certainly point to some good news for city centres across Great Britain, with a number of agents now telling me they’ve seen a marked uptick in demand from first-time buyers, and they’re managing to sell city centre flats more quickly than in earlier months of the year."