Prices across the region dipped by 0.2% over November, making the average home in the region worth £186 less than in October.
Over half of the areas that were surveyed recorded a rise in property values, with the overall fall driven by pronounced decreases in previously buoyant areas like Killingworth (-2.6%) and North Shields (-2.4%).
The price fall recorded in KIS’ analysis is also significantly lower than the month-on-month fall of 3.6% reported recently by Rightmove.
East Durham saw the North East’s largest rises, with both Easington and Peterlee recording rises of 1.7%. Prices in Easington are now 4.3% higher than they were 12 weeks ago.
South Tyneside also recorded a strong month, followed by South Shields and Whitburn, with prices increases of 1.2%.
Newcastle is named this month’s “Best to Buy”, with prices falling back slightly (0.2%) having risen by over 5% in the preceding 3 months.
Rental Market Analysis
North East rents remain static at £598pcm - a slight rise of £6 against October. Rents fell noticabely in Darlington by 2.9% month on month.
Rental yields rose by an average of 0.2%, with the strongest returns landlords can expect to make on their investment still to be found in Gateshead (up 0.6% to 7.7%). The typical rental yield on a North East home remains 4.5% per annum.
Yields in Durham City rose by a striking 1.3% in September – although this is likely to be the result of students beginning the search for homes for the new academic year.
North Shields’ unanticipated fall in house prices – which comes on the back of a 5.1% surge over the last two months – sees the town named this month’s “Best to Invest”.
74% of properties in North Shields are flats, maisonettes or apartments and 65% of households are made up of just one person.
BTL investors should watch out for Newcastle, with its rental yields rising by a whole percentage point in just two months.
Ajay Jagota, founder and CEO of KIS Group responded to the figures.
“A moderate cooling of the market is always to be expected in the run-up to Christmas but with North East property prices at a standstill for two months now it may well be that the mini-boom of recent months is at the very least on hiatus. What is really interesting is the variations we’re seeing from area to area – proving the value of highly-regionalised analysis like ours. If you remove North Shields and Killingworth from the figures, property prices actually rose slightly, up 0.5%, and even those areas are considerably up on this time last year.
Whether it’s we’re seeing a price plateau or it’s just the time of year, now would be a good time for those looking to rent or sell a property to take advantage of the comparatively cool market to make repairs or improvements to their properties in preparation of the new year.
A lot of people make it their New Year resolution to move house, so it’s important that your home looks its best when they do – ‘tis the season to be painting!”
