Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be looking at the past, present and future of Sheffield’s property market. This will give a great insight into how the market has evolved within Sheffield, making it one of the most profitable areas to let in the UK.
The Sheffield housing market is one that has been growing since the start of the 20th century, if not before. The census of 1921 shows that there were approximately 543,000 people living in Sheffield at the time. What’s interesting about this number is that 20 years’ prior, there were only 451,195 people recorded.
This means that the city of Sheffield actually grew by an astonishing 100,000 people within 20 years, but why is this? When trying to find this answer, there can be a few factors to consider. The first is that back in 1893, Sheffield had acquired city status, and as such, a street widening scheme was introduced in order to reflect its new status and help the city grow moving forwards. A result of this was the eradication of old slum properties, and a series of terraced houses introduced that conformed to people’s requirements.
This wasn’t the only change, as a report was commissioned by the ‘Development and Improvement Committee’ that detailed that instilling parks and open space within Sheffield was required. Following this, public trams were introduced, and it wasn’t long before more and more properties were erected as people were not able to easily commute between home and work.
By 1981, Sheffield had actually expanded over certain borders, and now incorporate some areas that were identified earlier to be small villages that resided outside of the Sheffield area. The expansion of Sheffield into other areas means that Sheffield is a much bigger city as a result.
Next week: Sheffield’s housing market today
