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Housing boom has not reached North East… yet

A North East property expert believes the region is ‘the best place in the UK to buy a home’ – as one poll names Sunderland amongst the top 10 places in the country to purchase property.

Ajay Jagota, of KIS Lettings, believes property market conditions make now “the perfect time” to invest in a North East home and urged investors to “look beyond London”.

Recent reports have suggested that not only is the UK housing market on the road to recovery but is even enjoying a ‘buy to let boom’, with the Council of Mortgage Lenders reporting a five-year-high in lending levels.

40,000 mortgage applications were accepted between April and June alone – with an overall value of £5bn – the highest levels since 2008.

Analysis from Countrywide, the UK’s largest lettings agency, shows North Eastern landlords getting some of the biggest returns on their investment on the country with buy-to-let yields of at least 6.4%.

Another poll placed Sunderland 7th and Middlesbrough 4th in the top ten best places to buy homes in the UK.

Some analysts have warned, meanwhile, that the lettings market in London and the South East is already “at saturation point” advising investors to ‘purchase with caution’.

Ajay, who manages properties for almost 700 landlords from branches in Sunderland, South Shields, North Shields and Welwyn Garden City, said: “The housing boom has not reached the North East yet - meaning a rare window of opportunity for people looking to buy houses both to live in and as an investment.

“Mortgages are easier to find than they have been for some time but good quality homes are still well below the levels we saw several years ago. This makes it the perfect time to invest and the North East is the best place to do it.

“Not only is this good news for first time buyers looking to get their first step on the property ladder, and thwarted second steppers left with no option but to take on a second mortgage and rent out their first home if they want to move up the chain–but unbeatable long term returns for investors, prepared to look beyond London.

“Rental yields in the North East are amongst the highest in the country, and yields of 9 or 10% are not out of the question – that’s three or four times what you’d get in the South East,

“More is the point the likely capital appreciation on properties in the region may tip the balance in favour of investing here - when adding yields and capital appreciation together you could get a better return than anywhere else on the whole property investment if held for the medium term.

“The key to making a success is often talking to the right agents, making sure you get the best possible advice on the local market, wherever that is.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says prices are rising at their fastest since November 2006 and the largest rise in activity came in the the North East.

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