York is better known for its Viking and Roman past than its popularity as a development location. However, some upcoming new developments are promising to bring the city very much into the 21st century. In this report we will look at some of these developments as well as the wider property market in the city.

York’s economy was traditionally industrial and based around the railways and chocolate manufacturing. In recent years, as these industries have diminished, services and the visitor economy have become important contributors to the local economy.

York is considered to be one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the UK. It attracts short stay visitors from around the UK and worldwide and is increasingly popular with day visitors for socialising. Key attractions include York Minister, the National Railway Museum and York Racecourse. According to Make It York the city receives around 8.9m tourist visits annually, which generates £1.7bn for the local economy and supports 17,000 jobs. They say that a fifth of York’s visitors stay overnight with £249m of direct spend from visitors going towards accommodation.

As part of the move towards a service economy the universities here have become increasingly important in recent years. The University of York has around 23,000 students, with numbers having almost doubled in 20 years. It has two purpose built parkland campuses at Heslington on the eastern edge of the city. York St. John University has around 8,300 students and a campus immediately to the north of the city centre.

Historically, York was an area of moderate property prices compared to the long-desirable parts of North Yorkshire such as Harrogate. However, as demand to live here, and from students and short stay visitors, has risen so have prices and rents. As in many other places today local reports suggest that the city is suffering from both a shortage of accommodation and severely stretched affordability relating to prices and rents for locals.