York Chosen as Ideal Second-Home Destination in the UK

According to a recent poll in new homes portal whathouse.co.uk, York has become the most popular destination for a second home in the UK. The city was voted top by 66% of readers, followed by Devon with 9%, the Scottish Highlands with 7%, Bath and Cornwall tied at 5%, while my home town of Brighton could only manage a measly 4% of the vote.

It is easy to see why York is such an attractive destination as it's a walled medieval city with a long list of attractions that include the award-winning Jorvik Centre, York Minster and York City Walls. However the fact that it was rated significantly higher than other traditional favourites such as Cornwall and Devon was surprising to the assistant editor of whathouse.co.uk, Laurna Robertson:

"While York is a vibrant city with lots to offer residents and holidaymakers, coastal counties like Cornwall and Devon are traditionally considered to be more desirable areas for second homes. I wonder if the popularity of York may have to do with the more affordable homes for sale there in the current climate."

Latest figures from the BBC showed the average house price in York is at £203,485which is significantly more affordable than Devon, Bath, Cornwall and Brighton and Hove. Only the Scottish Highlands was cheaper with an average price of £152,432.

Steve Woomble, sales director for Linden Homes said:

"It is wonderful to see York doing so well in opinion polls like this. It is a wonderful city that combines the historic so well with the vibrancy and general buzz about the place. Linden Homes recently launched our newest development in York-named 1877 to commemorate the golden age of railway. It is proving hugely popular with home buyers with a range of budgets and living requirements-further adding evidence that York is a much sought after location."

Paul Newman, the managing director for Barratt David Wilson Yorkshire East, added:

"We have been successfully building in York for more than 40 years now and design developments which meet and hopefully exceed our buyer’s expectations. We have one active site, Derwenthorpe that has achieved near sellout success in just 18 months with only three of the 64 properties remaining, and have several new exciting schemes opening in York in the near future which will be perfect for buyers looking for a first or second home."

Whathouse.co.uk is the leading new homes portal, and has thousands of new homes and affordable new homes for sale in the UK. In addition it provides the latest property news, mortgage advice and valuation of homes and property.