Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Wakefield (July 2026)
The average private rent in Wakefield is £800 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £198,519 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 4.8%, ranked 99 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Wakefield
The average private rent across all property types is £800 a month (+5.8% on a year earlier). The regional median in Yorkshire and The Humber is £749.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £572 | £6,864 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £721 | £8,652 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £863 | £10,356 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,209 | £14,508 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Wakefield: one to two bedrooms adds 26% to the rent, two to three adds 19.7% and three to four-plus adds 40.1% (England-and-Wales medians 27.3%, 20.9% and 40.9%). The biggest step here is three to four or more bedrooms — the size where an extra room earns most, and the first place to look when comparing a conversion against its cost.
House prices in Wakefield
The average price paid is £198,519 (+4.8% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £314,856 |
| Semi-detached | £199,891 |
| Terraced | £158,494 |
| Flat | £100,133 |
Rents and prices moved together in Wakefield — +5.8% and +4.8% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Wakefield ranks 79th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 86th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Wakefield
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £721 | £100,133 | 8.6% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £863 | £158,494 | 6.5% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £863 | £199,891 | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,209 | £314,856 | 4.6% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Wakefield is on flats at 8.6%, against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type; the weakest is detached. Gross figures ignore service charges, which usually make flats the thinnest net yield of the four.
What that means for a landlord
- Gross yield 4.8% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 99 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.7%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £24,000 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 38% of EPCs lodged in Wakefield over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 34% at D (EPC ratings in Wakefield).
- Council tax: Band D in Wakefield is £2,297 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Wakefield).
Lender maths on the averages. At a 5.5% stress rate and 145% rent cover — the common buy-to-let convention — the average rent of £800 supports a loan of about £120,376, which is 60.6% of the average price. That falls short of 75% loan-to-value, so a buyer of an average home here needs a larger deposit or a stronger rent to pass the stress test. Both numbers are conventions rather than rules — change them in the stress test.
Run the numbers for Wakefield
- Yield calculator with £198,519 and £800 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £800 a month
- Rental income tax on £9,600 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in Yorkshire and The Humber
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East Lincolnshire | £633 | £151,132 | 5% | +5.4% |
| Bradford | £749 | £185,028 | 4.9% | +3.3% |
| Doncaster | £691 | £170,784 | 4.9% | +5.8% |
| Barnsley | £693 | £175,733 | 4.7% | +7.5% |
| Calderdale | £753 | £191,540 | 4.7% | +2.2% |
| York | £1,193 | £309,611 | 4.6% | +6.3% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Wakefield · EPC ratings in Wakefield.
Rents: ONS, Price Index of Private Rents (average monthly private rent by local authority, July 2026). Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (average price, June 2026). Gross yield = rent × 12 ÷ price, our calculation. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Rankings and medians are ours, across 316 local authorities.
Asked about this area
£800 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 5.8% on a year earlier.
£198,519 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 4.8% gross on the averages — £800 rent against a £198,519 price — ranking 99 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 8.6% gross (£721 rent on a £100,133 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +5.8% against prices +4.8% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £24,000 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.