The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8am to 10am.
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After a period of deflation, the housing market showed modest signs of stabilisation this month, the latest data from Rightmove suggest.
Property asking prices edged upwards by an average of £1,950 or 0.5% this month, but Yorkshire and the Humber saw a slightly a bigger increase of 0.6%.
This means the average asking price in Yorkshire and the Humber now stands at £248,000, which is a 1.8% increase on this time last year.
However, the national monthly increase of 0.5% is the smallest average asking price increase at this time of year since 2008, and well below the historic norm in October of 1.4%. The number of sales agreed is also 17% below this time last year, as those sellers who are struggling to adjust their price expectations to match current activity levels are finding their homes left on the shelf.
Rightmove said the number of buyers enquiring for each available home for sale is 8% higher than in the more normal, and pre-Covid, 2019 market. It also revealed that a property that receives its first buyer enquiry on the first day of marketing, rather than after two weeks, is 60% more likely to find a buyer.
Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, which has 20 offices across Yorkshire, including branches in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, said:
“Accurate pricing is vitally important in the current market to generate immediate momentum when launching a property to market. There are buyers waiting for the right homes to come onto the market, but most will steer clear of anything overpriced.
“Although it can be tempting for sellers to price high initially on the off chance there’s a buyer waiting in the wings, and then reduce the price later when it doesn’t sell, this can be a risky strategy in the current market.”
Independent school in charity tie-up
Families living in poverty across Yorkshire will benefit from a new charity link-up after pupils at Ashville Prep School in Harrogate chose Zarach as their charity for the year.
Zarach delivers beds and basic provisions to children living in poverty and was set up by Leeds primary school teacher Bex Wilson after she found that some of the children she taught didn’t have a bed to sleep in.
Pupils at Ashville Prep School donated food at their harvest festival service.
Phil Soutar, Head of Ashville Prep School, said:
“The new link-up reflects Ashville’s values of openness, respect for others and a sense of social responsibility. It is not just about raising money or gifting goods for this great charity, it’s also about raising awareness about the daily hardship faced by people in our community.
“We’re immensely proud of the thoughtfulness and empathy shown by our pupils, as we explore more ways in which we can help others and give back to our community.”
The partnership got off to a successful start at the prep school’s harvest festival service, and the Prep School Charity Club will continue to raise money for Zarach for the remainder of the academic year, helping to pay for “bed bundles” which include a mattress, pillow, duvet, pyjamas, sheets, toothpaste and other sanitary and bathroom products.
Last year, the Prep School Charity Club raised more than £2,500 for Guide Dogs.
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Business Breakfast: Former director of British Council appointed Ashville bursar
Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
A former director of the British Council has been appointed bursar at Harrogate’s Ashville College.
Richard Rooze has taken on the financial role after spending two decades with the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
Ashville College head Rhiannon Wilkinson said:
“This is an incredibly important role as a bursar is a school’s financial director.
“Having started his career as a teacher – and spending many years at a very high level within the British Council – he (Richard) brings with him a wealth of experience within the education sector.”
Mr Rooze said:
“After more than 25 years working abroad, I was looking at both a career change and to move to the Harrogate area, so when I saw Ashville advertising for a bursar I knew this was the perfect position for me…
“My goal is to use my skills to deliver excellent outcome for students and partners, and to build the brand of UK education over the long term… I’m excited to be helping develop and deliver Ashville’s strategy for the next five years, which will see the college celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2027.”
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Housing developer supports poverty charity
Redrow homes has held an event at its Granby Meadows development in Harrogate to announce a partnership with a charity that supports people living in poverty.
Zarach, which is based in Leeds, aims to support children and their families who are struggling with the cost of living.
Redrow said Granby Meadows is a showcase development for the company in Yorkshire with its first re-branded, digital-led and paperless customer experience suite. Every new home purchased at the Harrogate site will also receive a copy of Zarach’s bedtime book entitled Zed Ted.
Steve Jackson, sales director for Redrow Yorkshire, said:
“We are always keen to help worthwhile charities and causes, and I have never been more delighted to offer our support than with Zarach which is, sadly, a much-needed organisation.
“Having a bed to sleep in and food to eat so they can get a good night’s sleep should be a basic right of every child; likewise that families, as Zarach points out, should be able to thrive and not just survive.”
Redrow has made a first donation of £2,500 to help fund the work of the charity.
L-R: Steve Jackson, sales director at Redrow Yorkshire, Amy Green, co-ordinator of volunteers for Zarach, and Redrow Yorkshire’s managing director John Handley.