Member Article

North East named best place to buy a home

Its official – the North East is the best place in the UK to buy a house.

Durham has been named the UK’s most affordable city and the easiest place in the country to gain a first foot on the property ladder – despite lower regional wages.

The research, carried out by estate agents Knight Frank – which mapped average earnings for the under 40s against typical house prices - also named Newcastle in the UK’s top 10 affordable cities.

London was found to be three times less affordable than Durham.

A separate survey revealed investors looking for top buy-to-let yields are also better off buying property in the region, which boasts the UK’s highest average rental yields of 6.4% - despite figures from tenant referencing service Homelet indicating that rents in the region fell by 0.8% in August and have declined by 1.7% this year.

Property expert Ajay Jagota, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the North East’s most innovative sales and lettings business KIS, believes the figures showcase the North East’s appeal to renters, buyers and investors alike.

The firm is famous for being the first letting agents in the UK to abolish deposits, replacing them with a one-of-a-kind landlord insurance policy offering guaranteed rent, legal assistance and round the clock third party emergency home repairs.

Ajay said: “If you’re a first time buyer struggling to get on the property ladder or an investor looking to make a rapid return on rental properties the evidence is as clear as my advice: Look North.

“Even if you are one of the growing number of people who prefers renting to buying despite being able afford home ownership, our rents are literally almost half the UK average, and almost £1000 a month cheaper than London.

“The apparent easing in the rental market is an interesting one. August is a famously slow month in all areas of the property market, but it could be the case that the success of the Help to Buy Scheme has lessened demand for homes by removing renters from the market, lowering demand for rented homes, or it could be that we are witnessing a settling of the market.

“It will be interesting to see how our own monthly market intelligence report, KIS Property NOW, will fit in with these figures next week.

“Nonetheless, there is still clearly comparatively demand for rental properties, as demonstrated by the North East competitive yields and the fact rents are falling faster in other areas – by three times as much in the North West for example.

“One way or another, it’s never been clearer what I’ve been saying all along – whether you’re looking to put down roots or build a property portfolio, the North East is the best place to buy a home.”

KIS manage properties for landlords in every corner of the North East from branches across Tyne and Wear, and were named Letting Agent of the Year in the 2013 Landlord and Letting Awards. The firm expanded into residential sales in 2014.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ajay Jagota .