The Leeds City Region Avocado House Price Index
No discerning creative can get by without their avocado on sourdough washed down with a ripe kombucha. And Channel 4 workers moving up from London needn’t be afraid - this Northern city region boasts hundreds of hipster hangouts selling avocado, sourdough, matcha lattes and, of course, kombucha.
19 February 2020
What’s more, not only can you have your avocado toast and eat it, but up here you don’t have to jeopardise your house deposit in order to fund your brunch habit, contrary to those who’ve suggested that millennials can’t afford to buy a home because they spend too much on smashed avocado and fancy coffee.
The BBC even went to the trouble of producing an avocado toast index to get to the bottom of just how many avocados you’d need to give up in order to save a deposit for a place in 10 capital cities around the world including London. And guess what? It’s a lot of avocados.
They estimated that in London it would take 24,499 avocado toasts to save a 20% deposit for a 970 sq foot apartment outside the city centre, with the apartment in this particular example costing £709,644 and the avocado toast costing an average price of £5.79 (where they got this figure from we’ve no idea, but in our avocado-eating experience in London it’s double that).
Well. Such budgets and equations aren’t necessary here. But we thought we’d take you on a journey across the region to discover what your avocado and house budgets will get you. The house budget being £350,000 - half that of the £700,000 970 sq ft flat in London in the BBC index (#justsaying).
Feast your eyes on these...
WolfOx, 66-68 Wellington Street, Leeds
Step into WolfOx and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d just walked into an LA eatery. Alas, it’s based just a 2-minute walk from Leeds train station. Vegan croissants, homemade almond milk, and matcha lattes are all available using organic and biodynamic ingredients. And take note - this is no ordinary avo on sourdough. This offering comes with a choice of charcoal vegan gluten-free bread, a vegan pretzel bun, or vegan gluten-free bagel. All for a mere snip at £6.50.
This stunning eco-friendly new-build development on the River Aire in the city centre is a real find. This home has four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a roof terrace across 1,256 sq ft, as well as Scandinavian styling, bamboo flooring, and smart home technology built in as standard. All for £330,000.
Wakefield
The Hepworth Cafe at The Hepworth Wakefield (museum)
The avocado appears to have been knocked off the menu and replaced by the ‘New Boy’ at The Hepworth Cafe. This features pea and mint hummus, pickled green beans, spicy roast cherry tomatoes, rocket and pumpkin seeds on toasted homemade focaccia, all for £6.50. Not a bad substitution. Or you can get a ‘full vegan breakfast’ featuring homemade baked beans, Indian spiced fritters, mango chutney, salsa, portobello mushroom, grilled tomato and homemade focaccia toast for a steal at £8.95, which we thought worthy of inclusion as it sounds too good not to. And The Yorkshire Post scored this place 20/20.
Oxford Lifestyle at City Fields, Aberford Road, Wakefield, WF1
A smidgen over budget but with good reason - this new property has three double bedrooms, each with its own high-spec en-suite bathroom. And the master has a walk-in dressing room. All for £356,950. Not too shabby.
Bradford
Bread and Roses, 14 North Parade, Bradford
Finding any online reference to avocado in Bradford proved very tricky indeed. Let alone avocado on sourdough. We have no doubt that it exists, but this one left us stumped. If you know of a place, tell us and we’ll add it. We did however come across some rather nifty looking cafes such as Bread and Roses, a ‘cafe co-working art room’ selling dishes such as gluten-free oat milk porridge, loaded houmous toast, and tofu scramble, so hipsters needn’t despair.
What Bradford lacks in avocado, it makes up for in bedrooms. In Bradford £350,000 will get you a 7-bedroom semi with period features, 4 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms. You’ll need an eye for interiors and be prepared to add a lick of paint here and there.
Halifax
The Guardian wrote an article titled Let’s all move to Halifax and rightly so.
Tempo, 1875 Barrington Street, Halifax
The avocado-to-house price ratio gets a little out of whack here as the ‘tomato avocado toast’ in this establishment comes in at a whopping £14, although it does come with two poached eggs, grilled tomato, guacamole, and hash browns.
If it’s maximum number of bedrooms you’re after, you can’t argue with 7 bedrooms for £300,000. ‘How on earth is that possible?’ you might be asking yourself. And you’d have a point. This substantial Victorian Terrace is set over four floors, has four cellar rooms, and a bewildering 2,368 sq ft of floor space. Sure, you might want to do a fair bit of decorating. But you’d have many pennies left to do so.
Huddersfield
Northern Tea House, 36 King Street, Huddersfield
We’re spotting a trend here - it seems these Northern cafes can’t resist adding extra nourishment on top of the avocado. At this establishment they add feta, chilli flakes, a poached egg and a lime wedge. All for the princely sum of £7.50.
Reinwood Lodge, Lindley, Huddersfield
In Huddersfield you can bag this 5-bedroom detached period property set over three storeys with two bathrooms, and set in large grounds - all for £350,000.
Chapel Allerton
Move out to the burbs and you’ll get a bit more for your money. Perhaps not with your avocado as it’s pretty trendy out here. But certainly with your land mass.
House of Koko, 62 Harrogate Road
Dog-friendly, outdoor patio, summer BBQs, a seasonal menu created by an in-house chef, Minor Figures oat milk… the team at House of Koko are ticking lots of boxes. And the lemon avocado with feta and spinach costs just £6.
Barthorpe Crescent, Leeds, LS17
You could nab this three-bedroom semi for a mere snip at £325,000. Situated on a quiet cul-de-sac you’ll get 1,127 sq ft but on top of that you get a front as well as a back garden (south facing of course).