‘City of Airbnbs’ has seen country’s highest house price rise

House prices in York - where the local MP is leading an onslaught on the proliferation of short lets - have risen more than anywhere else in England and Wales.

Figures from the Halifax show that prices in York grew by 23.1 per cent in just a year - or £69,648 on average in cash terms, to a typical £370,639. Since March 2020, when the Coronavirus lockdowns started in the UK, average house prices in York have risen by 41.9 per cent or £109,457.

Woking in Surrey and Swansea ranked second and third for the scale of increases in 2022, while the weakest annual growth was in Leicester and Hull. 

York Labour MP Rachael Maskell says a surge in the number of stag and hen parties in her constituency - undertaken by people staying in Airbnbs and other short let properties - have led to “devastation” in the city.

Just before Christmas Maskell moved a Bill in the House of Commons calling for greater council-level regulation over Airbnbs and other short lets.

The Bill - if it gets through Parliament - backs the Scottish licensing model, enabling local authorities to set up control zones to limit the expansion of holiday lets where housing is under pressure.

It would also give councils new powers to close down short lets that are causing a repeated nuisance to local residents, and returning these homes to families.