WEST Yorkshire house sales enquiries have decreased by -44 per cent compared to last year figures.

Experts at WeBuyAnyHome have analysed the impact that the coronavirus crisis had on the industry performance at the start of the year by comparing sales figures from January to May 2019 to the same period in 2020.

The study puts in perspective house sales inquiries with the amount of coronavirus cases registered in each location.

UK house sales demand has fallen by 33 per cent on average compared to last year’s figures. West Yorkshire's decrease is above the Nation's average with -44 per cent less house sales inquiries compared to last year figures (January-May).

West Yorkshire’s most common type of sellers during the pandemic period (January to May 2020) were low income families, young singles and couples and working singles.

Across the UK, generally ‘Early Stage Families’ and ‘Supported Families’ types of sellers decreased compared to last year.

Mark Irwin, marketing director at WeBuyAnyHome stated: “The property market, indeed the economy as a whole, has never seen anything like this before - any person making claims to know what will happen next and when, would likely be using guesswork as much as the layman would.

"However, interpreting these figures, we might expect the current “bubble” to last until November, with economic struggles then causing a drop in values by approx. 25%, with it felt more acutely in lower value properties that don’t benefit from the stamp duty reduction, and as they tend to belong to lower paid workers who may be more susceptible to job losses and sadly being forced to sell. That is our current working assumption, but things are changing all the time.”