Member Article

North East house prices strong and stable as General Election approaches

• Regional house prices practically unchanged over past four weeks – falling by 0.2%
• Average property in the region now valued at £166,125 – 0.2% from April but up 5.8% year on year. • Prices perform strongest this month in Easington (2.2%) and in Blyth (12.6%) over the past 12 months. • Rents fall by £9 to £576pcm – offering investors a return of 4.2%

North East are practically unchanged as the General Election approaches - dipping by 0.2% over the past month.

Analysis from local property firms KIS and Dlighted indicates than a typical property in the region is currently valued at £166,125 - £441 less than prices at the end of April.

House values in the region had previously risen by 1.9% in April, after falling 0.1% in February and March.

Average regional property values are also 5.8% higher than 12 months ago, with the average property valued £9150 more in May 2017 than May 2016.

8 of the 20 areas surveyed saw prices rise, with particularly strong performance recorded in Easington (2.2%) Peterlee (1.6%) and Houghton-le-Spring (1.5%)

Above average drops were recorded in South Shields (-2.2%) North Shields (-1.6%) and Durham City (-1.5%)

House prices in Blyth and Whitburn have performed the strongest over the past 12 months, rising by 12.6% and 8.8% respectively. Prices in all 20 of the areas surveyed are higher than this time last year, albeit only by 0.01% in Peterlee.

North East rents fell slightly to £576 per calendar month in May – a fall of £9. Current values are also £2 a month lower than those this time last year.

Average rental yields are unchanged – with property investors continuing to see an average return on their investment of 4.2%, 0.1% less than last month.

Investors in North East property continue to see significantly higher returns than those who have invested in London (average yield 3.2)

Easington (£385) continues to be the cheapest place to rent in the North East out of the areas surveyed, followed by Blyth (£418). Tynemouth (£1125pcm) is this month’s most expensive in general terms.

Peterlee continues to be the region’s Buy to Let Capital, with an average return of 6.1% for investors. Other strong performers for rental yield include Gateshead (5.2%), Newcastle (5%) and Tynemouth, Sunderland and Jarrow (4.9%).

Ajay Jagota, founder and Managing Director of Keep It Simple and Dlighted a Proptech company that delivers a Deposit replacement insurance solution which is an alternative to the cash Tenancy Deposit schemes TDS, DPS and Mydeposits.

He said:

“I predicted four weeks ago was that we would see little change in house prices this month with both buyers and sellers adopting a ‘wait and see’ outlook ahead of next week’s General Election - and so it has proved.

“What will be fascinating to see is whether next week’s result releases some pent up energy, pushing prices up. This is certainly what happened in 2015, when North East property prices rose by 4.8% in the two months after the General Election.

“A hung Parliament or slim majority could have the opposite effect, but what’s really striking about our figures is how resilient they show the North East property market to have been over the past 12 months, despite the uncertainty of Brexit and another General Election.

“Prices are currently almost 6% higher than they were twelve months ago, adding more than £9000 to the value of the average property. In the case of Blyth, it’s nearly 13% and £15,000 higher.

“With rents practically unchanged in the same period, dare I say that the North East property market is strong and stable – good news for both the many and the few?”

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