- Research shows Chester-le-Street homes are the quickest to sell, followed by Sunderland and South Shields
- Properties in Consett are the fastest to rent out – finding tenants two months faster than the regional average
Chester-le-Street residents seem to be having the easiest time of it when it comes to selling a North East house – with properties in the town selling at both the quickest rate in the region and 30% faster than a year ago.
Analysis of 20 North East areas by sales and lettings firm KIS shows homeowners in the region are currently waiting an average of 196 days to sell their properties – down 1.8% from 199 days recorded this time last year.
Homes in Chester-le-Street are currently selling fastest, with properties selling on average after 86 days on the market – less than 3 months. Houses in the town are also selling 30% faster than this time last year.
Other speedy-selling areas include Sunderland (114 days) South Shields (120 days) and Tynemouth (122 days).
Properties in Crook are finding buyers 15% faster than this time last year (220 days) while properties in Durham are selling 17% slower (261 days).
Homes in Ashington however sell the slowest, taking on average 312 days to be sold. Second slowest is Jarrow, where properties on average sell after 302 days on the market.
Houses in Consett are seemingly the easiest to rent out, renting on average after 108 days on the market.
North East rental properties find tenants on average after 157 days, with other rental hotspots including Chester-le-Street (120 days) Tynemouth (130) and Cramlington (131).
Properties in Gateshead meanwhile take the longest to find tenants, with houses staying on the market for an average of 211 days. Newcastle homes take 206 days to be rented out, with houses in Jarrow taking 195 days.
KIS Managing Director Ajay Jagota responded to the figures. The North East property expert and founder of deposit-free renting solution Dlighted said:
“The N orth East property market has felt defined by an atmosphere of ‘wait and see’ in recent months, with buyers and sellers holding off from property transactions because of things like the General Election – but these figures suggest that that may not have been the case, with properties actually selling at a faster rate than twelve months ago.
“Localised analysis like this always throws up fascinating results that might otherwise be missed. If you put a Chester-le-Street property for sale today, you could be putting up a ‘Sold’ board with your Halloween decorations. If you do it in Ashington, you could well still be there this time next year.
“Seeing properties in places like Consett renting out faster than student centres like Durham may seem surprising, but with all due respect to the former, this is probably due more to lower levels of competition for properties rather than attractiveness.
“The real message here is that it can take several months to find tenants for rented properties regardless of location. This is why innovations like deposit-free renting, which use insurance policies to protect properties, making it much easier to find and keep good tenants, can be so important.”