Before you offer on a home at WF1 2HY: the checks to raise with your surveyor and conveyancer, whether an asking price stands up against what sold nearby, how prices here have moved since 1995, what it costs to run a home, and a buyer's report for every home on the postcode.
3 things to raise before an offer, and a street where the typical sale was £160k. In Wakefield Central.
3 to check3 clear£160k typical on Leeds Road
The checklist
Before you make an offer
Check
Radon: up to 5–10% of homes above the action levelThis 1 km square includes a radon affected area. Ask whether the home has been tested; a three-month test is simple and cheap, and only a test shows a home's level (UKHSA/BGS).
Check
Coal mining high-risk areaPast shallow mining or mine entries may affect building here. Your conveyancer should order a coal mining search (Coal Authority).
Check
Noise above WHO guidelines: road 68 dB24-hour averages from Defra's 2022 noise maps (England). Visit at rush hour and at night.
Note
Busy road: A61, 950 m awayAbout 32,568 vehicles a day in 2019 (DfT traffic counts).
Clear
Low ground hazardsBGS rates the wider area low for subsidence, landslides and sinkholes.
Clear
No river or sea flood risk recordedNot in the Environment Agency's high or medium risk areas. Surface water isn't included: check the exact address on GOV.UK.
Clear
Gigabit broadband100% of premises in the postcode can get it (Ofcom).
What homes cost and rent in Wakefield Central, by size
Size
Typical value today
Cheaper quarter
Estimated rent
Gross yield
1 bed
£101k
£84k
£560 a month
6.7%
2 beds
£127k
£106k
£660 a month
6.2%
3 beds
£187k
£166k
£850 a month
5.5%
4+ beds
£313k
£224k
£1,190 a month
4.6%
All homes
£159k
£120k
£740 a month
5.6%
Values: sales since 2021 of homes with an energy certificate (bedrooms estimated from its rooms), carried to today on the local price index; the cheaper quarter is what a quarter of them go for under. Rents are estimates: the council's typical private rent (ONS) adjusted for how values here compare. Gross yield = a year's rent ÷ value, before costs. Compare it with other places