Confidence is growing in Bradford’s housing market, according to the city’s estate agents, after a survey revealed the average price of a home in the region is now almost £170,000.

House prices increased by 5.3 per cent in Yorkshire and Humberside in the 12 months to March, with the region’s typical property price now at £169,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures have revealed.

Property values rose by eight per cent in the same period in the UK, with the average house price at £252,000.

Now, city estate agents say business is brisk in Bradford but the average house price is still lagging behind the regional average. James Watts, director at Robert Watts, said: “The market is better in Bradford; it’s busy, but I can’t see any massive price increase in the last 12 months. One to two per cent rise maybe. The exception to the rule are bungalows, as they are limited. People’s perceptions are that it’s going up. There is a lot more optimism on the housing market though.

“Bradford still has a lot of old stock, but not much new stock coming through. Prices in this part of the world are not going up. The market is getting brighter though. In Bradford, the average price is between £100,000 to £110,000, across the board for all different types of property.”

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son and Hartley, which has offices across the district, including Saltaire, Keighley and Ilkley, said: “These figures don’t surprise me. The first-time buyers are much more active than they were. They are starting to push lower priced properties, which are more noticeable than the other extreme of the market.

“There is more of a bubble of demand for properties in the lower end of the market. There is a relative shortage of £1 million property purchases at the moment.”

Andrew McPhillips, group economist, at Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society, said: “House prices in this region are increasing in line with the national average when you exclude London. However, this is not at such a high rate that you could really call it a bubble. Similarly there is still some way to go in the region before prices recover to their pre-crisis peak.”

Elsewhere in the survey, the ONS said annual house price rises in England are being driven by a 17 per cent year-on-year rise in London, where the average house price in London has reached £459,000.