This month we will conclude our three part report on the Yorkshire property market by looking at the market in the main urban centres of South Yorkshire.

Background and demographics
South Yorkshire has a population of around 1.4m. The county is divided into four metropolitan areas each centred around its largest settlement, with the Sheffield-Rotherham conurbation being the sixth largest urban area in the UK.

Official projections suggest the largest city, Sheffield, will grow significantly over the coming years while outlaying towns will grow only slightly. According to ONS figures the population of Sheffield is currently around 577,000 but they project it will grow to 613,500 by 2027. They say the population of Barnsley is currently around 242,500 and project it will grow to 258,000, Doncaster around 303,000 growing to 310,000 and Rotherham around 262,000 growing to 270,500 over the same period.

South Yorkshire has long had a fairly low level of migration, mainly from south Asia. However, press reports suggest there has been substantial immigration here from eastern Europe in recent years. Reports claim that 6,000 eastern European migrants have moved to just one Sheffield suburb, Page Hall, since 2012.

Economy
The economy of South Yorkshire was traditionally heavy industrial, particularly centred around coal mining, steel making and engineering. The steel and engineering industries are still very important to the regional economy, although mainly now concentrating on specialist products and services.