Partner Article

North East house prices rise 1.9% before election

• Regional house prices grow for the first time in 2017 –adding £3099 to average house price • South Shields leads the charge with monthly growth of 5.4% • Average home in the region now valued at £166,655 - £9591 and 6% more than April 2016. • Rents rise £9 to £585 – meaning 4.2% return for investors.

North East house prices have defied predictions of a worsening UK economy to record their strongest monthly growth this year.

Amid predictions from economists that quarterly figures due this week will show UK economic growth slowing sharply, house values in the North East rose by 1.9% in April, adding £3099 to the price of the average house.

Analysis from KIS Group and DLighted shows regional property prices fell by 0.1% in both March and February, and by 3.1% in January.

Average regional property values are also 6% higher than 12 months ago, with the average property valued £9591 higher in April 2017 than April 2016.

A typical North East home will currently cost you £166,566 - compared £163,467 four weeks ago and £156,975 twelve months ago.

18 of the 20 areas surveyed saw prices rise, with particularly strong performance recorded in South Shields (5.4%) Blyth (4.7%) and Killingworth and Easington (3.2%)

Property prices fell in slightly in Cramlington (-0.9%) and Jarrow (-0.3%)

House prices in Blyth and South Shields have also performed the strongest over the past 12 months, rising by 11.1% and 10.1% respectively. Prices in Peterlee, however, are 1.5% lower than April 2016.

North East rents rose slightly to £585 in April – a rise of £9.

Rising property prices have forced rental yields slightly downward – with property investors seeing 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 (£391) continues to be the cheapest place to rent in the North East out of the areas surveyed, followed by Blyth (£408). Tynemouth (£12325pcm) is this month’s most expensive in general terms.

Peterlee is the region’s Buy to Let Capital yet once again, with an average return of 6% for investors. Other strong performers for rental yield include Newcastle and Gateshead (5.2%) and Tynemouth (5.1%).

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:

“After three months of negative growth it’s very good news to see North East house prices making up lost ground over the past four weeks and in a markedly stronger position than twelve months ago, with prices the best part of £10,000 higher than this time last year.

“The run up to a General Election generally means flat house prices as buyers and sellers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach, and even though this election has come slightly out of the blue I’d expect to see the same thing happen in May and June, with prices moving forward again come the summer, a traditionally strong period.

“Average asking prices for UK homes this week reached £313,000, all but double the North East average. When you combine that with historically low mortgage deals currently available for both owner-occupiers and investors, the North East remains a phenomenally good value location to make a home or invest in one.”

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