House price rises in Gorton in 2022 outpaced nearby areas as investment pours into the east Manchester neighbourhood.
House prices rose by nine per cent in Gorton, year-on-year, from 2021. In comparison, prices in Levenshulme, with its trendy restaurants and bars, rose by three per cent, while prices in Ardwick, with its proximity to the city centre, fell by 28 per cent.
The rises come as a wave of multi-million pound projects drive Gorton's regeneration. Schools, the area's amenities, transport links and the relative unaffordability of south Manchester is also bringing in buyers , locals and estate agents say.
Gorton councillor John Hughes told the Manchester Evening News: "Other areas are expensive like Levenshulme and Chorlton. There are people moving from up from London too.
"Some people might be moving to Gorton to get closer to the schools but the house prices are the main thing."
Wright Robinson College in Abbey Hey has been given an outstanding rating by Ofsted while pupils will start lessons at the new Belle Vue Co-op Academy for the first time in January.
Harriette Edwards has recently moved into the area, buying a mid-terraced home.
“It was the price of the property that made us buy it, we wouldn’t have been able to find a house for that price elsewhere," she said.
“What attracted me was the new housing estates and new school, meaning that hopefully the area is 'up and coming'. I’m hoping that all the investment brings the price of the property up.”
Gorton Hub opened last month, bringing together a range of services under one roof - including a pharmacy, a cafe, a library and a job centre.
Meanwhile the HideOut Youth Zone provides activities to young people, seven days a week, for just 50p a visit, in a multi-million pound new building.
Adam Farricker, CEO of Hideout Youth Zone, says the investment in the area will be transformative.
“We have provided over 5,000 young people in the area with somewhere to go, something positive to do and someone trusted to talk too," he said.
“I know Gorton will have a bright future, full of opportunities for its young people."
Meanwhile, Dougie McCallum, an estate agent for Sanderson James, based in Gorton, says properties in the neighbour are selling comfortably at asking price, as well as going over.
"There has been an influx into properties in and around Gorton," he said.
"Gorton has many things close by, like the Tesco Extra, transport links, everything is in short distance.
“A big change [in house prices] could be because of the youth centres like Hideout Youth Zone on Hyde Road...two-bedroom terraced houses are going up by around £40,000 in a few years.”
The average price of a property in Gorton is £170,843 - a a £27,000 increase since 2019, when homes were going for an average of £143,259.
Terraced homes are the most popular properties while semi-detached homes are selling at an average of £199,096.
Gorton is a neighbourhood rich in history, giving the world Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and Manchester City FC, with the restored Gorton Monastery, historic cottages, grand old parks, and a rich variety of wildlife within its boundaries.
But, in recent decades, like other parts of inner city Manchester, it's battled post-industrial decline and inequality, the effects of which local regeneration and community projects like the Hub, the HideOut and the Oasis Centre are tackling through their work.
Alan Kinsey, 68, a Gorton homeowner since 1988, hopes changes in the area don't make it unaffordable for working people.
“A very large percentage of home sales now in Gorton are now buy to let," he said. "People are either buying or investing for buy to let. In some cases, people are cashing in their pension hoping to make an investment.
“I think the idea of new infrastructure is good, like the new Hub on Hyde Road. At the same time though, new infrastructure is raising the price of properties. Some people can’t afford to move into this area because of that.”
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