Salford is one of the few parts of Greater Manchester where housing is still relatively affordable.
That’s the message from housing experts in the wake of a damning report into falling levels of home ownership.
Total home ownership in England now sits at just 63.8 per cent: levels have slipped back to what they were in 1986.
“This was once a London-centric issue,” write The Resolution Foundation today, “but there is growing evidence to suggest the crisis is spreading across the rest of the country – with Manchester and other big northern cities leading the way.
And the area with the sharpest drop in ownership over recent years is Greater Manchester.
Ownership here has plummeted 14% from its peak in the early 2000s.
© The Resolution Foundation
But Salford is bucking the trend, with family homes still relatively affordable, especially for first time buyers.
According to local property experts, demand remains extremely high in areas with easy access to Manchester city centre like Chapel Street, Blackfriars and Broughton.
Three-bed homes also sell quickly in areas with green open spaces popular with families, like Irlams o’th Height, Seedley, Claremont and Langworthy.
Terraced proprty on Seedley Park Road, Seedley
According to Rightmove.co.uk, in Salford in 2016 terraced properties sold for an average of £117,760.
There is still a significant amount of terraced housing in Salford – more so than in other regions of Greater Manchester.
Many of these homes would have originally been built as workers flooded into boom-town Salford in the late 1890s and early 1900s, when the Bridgewater Canal was coming into its own, catapulting forward industry in the area.
Today, average house prices in Salford sit at £144,427 across the city; that’s on average £35,000 cheaper than in Manchester city centre and £45,000 cheaper than in the canalside Castlefield area.
All of this adds up to an attractive mix for bargain-hunting first time buyers.
Large numbers of new homes – both flats and houses – are being built in Salford as developers recognise the city’s excellent schools, open spaces and good transport links.
Statistics from Salford City Council show 1,354 new homes were added to Salford’s housing stock last year, with the bulk of development in the inner city areas of Broughton, Irwell Riverside and Ordsall.
Keepmoat, for example, signed off on a new £56m, 18-acre riverside development in Charlestown where 429 new homes will be built.
Bellway Homes are building over 200 houses on Green Lane in Eccles and in Agecroft, while Countryside Properties’ New Broughton development has re-invigorated the area.
Martin Hill, Managing Director of local estate agent Hills Residential, explains: “Along with the heavy development of MediaCityUK and Salford Quays, regeneration projects and the continued expansion of Manchester are fuelling demand for affordable homes across the city.
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“Demand for property across the city remains high.
“Whilst we have seen an influx of investment buyers from other parts of the UK and abroad – attracted by the high yields potentially on offer – there is still some excellent value and opportunities around for first time buyers and home owners.
“Some areas are fast becoming property hotpots where we have the perfect combination of excellent access to transport links, improving local amenities and good quality housing – all of this adds up to the ideal opportunity for home ownership.
“Stamp duty changes for buy-to-lets and second home purchases have given first time buyers a better chance of getting on the housing ladder and ownership in Salford remains a genuine possibility for many people.”
