Parkside in Spennymoor will attract families and investors

A new property to the market is this 3 bedroom family home that's just come to the market via Dowen-

PARKSIDE, SPENNYMOOR, SPENNYMOOR DISTRICT

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50169509.html

It's in the ever-popular Parkside and has gone on the market at £118,500. Although it's another example of an estate agent not getting to grips with portal pricing, there's definitely potential here. It may appeal more to a family than an investor, but there's probably value here for either.

It's got three bedrooms and a kitchen/diner, which is popular for current buyers. Personally I'd get the estate agent back round to re-take some of the photos - a car on the drive is never a good start, for example.

For an investor, this property would attract a monthly rental return of between  £525 and £600. This equates to an annual rental return of between 5.3% and 6.1%, based on the asking price.

For a family home, there is always a demand for homes on Parkside. There have been 8 sales on Parkside in the last 5 years, with sold prices ranging from £86,000 to £130,000 but recent sold prices have been towards the lower end of this range-

http://m.nethouseprices.com/soldprices/property_results?street=PARKSIDE&town=SPENNYMOOR&outcode=DL16

It's definitely worth viewing for investors and owner-occupiers, so call the agent and make an appointment!

Is there still value in this 2 bedroom terraced house on Durham Road?

Is there still value in this 2 bedroom terraced house on Durham Road?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32624286.html

It was for sale via auction earlier this year and the "guide price" was around £25,000.  Now there has obviously been a lot of work put into the house.  From the outside it looks as though there has been new windows, probably re-plastering and a lot of decoration, and that's without and unseen improvements, such as rewiring or any work on the central heating system.  The agent leaves a lot of information and images out off their Rightmove listing and have only 2 photos included in the brochure, which could be a worry for a house that they describe as "superbly refurbished." And they also make the age-old faux pas of describing the distance from the town in how many minutes it takes to walk there - surely that depends on how fast you walk?

Now, my question - is there value for any potential buyer?

Well, at the right price, there is.  As an owner-occupier, the average price paid for a property on Durham Road over the last year is £80,068 and prices have appeared static in that time -

http://www.nethouseprices.com/index.php?con=sold_prices_street_detail&street=DURHAM+ROAD&locality=SPENNYMOOR&town=SPENNYMOOR&cCode=EW&year=last_three_years&house_style=All&house_age=All&search_radius=&outcode=DL16&incode=6JU

As a 2 bedroom house, close to the Town Centre, with a recent renovation, the asking price of £67,950 is a reasonable starting point for negotiations, especially given the average figure above. Durham Road has always been reasonably desirable and will provide a good starter home for a first time buyer.

As a landlord, looking to buy this as an investment property, there is potential there too. I'd expect a rental return of £400 to £500 per month, so an annual; return of £4,800 to £6,000 - a gross rental return of between 7% and 8.8%, based on the asking price.

It's one of those properties where everyone can be a winner - the current owner who has bought and renovated and the potential new owner, who can get a recently-renovated house without paying a new-home premium.

Is this Green Lane home country living?

This property has sparked my interest since it first came onto the market-

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44800045.html

On first look at the photo of the front elevation of the house, it looks imposing, large and looks as though it's set on it's own in perhaps a country or village location.

Now I'm sure it's a lovely house, but the initial photo can be a little deceptive, as the property is quite a bit closer to the road than it appears on the photo.  It's on Green Lane, almost opposite the Council Offices, near the new developments and on a fairly busy road, backing on to a council estate.

There's nothing wrong with any of these things, but they are probably not quite what you expect when you see the initial photo.

The house is decorated in a grand style, with high ceilings and it looks spacious.  The estate agent is Agency Express, who quote "Sell your home in days or weeks not months or years - most of our sales are around 6 weeks." However this particular property has been on the market for far in excess of that.  They also state on the particulars that "the property has the potential to be converted into two separate dwellings" but with a guide price of £330,000, I doubt that would be what any potential buyer would have in mind.

I have worked in the property market in several parts of the country, and this property brings forward a question that I have asked myself time and time again, since moving to the North East.

Are prices like this sustainable in an areas that has low economic growth, lower wages and higher deprivation than area within commutable distance to London?

I know that;'s quite a long-winded question, but it has struck me as odd that a property like the one above is commanding a similar price to a similar property in Essex, for example, where the owner could easily hop on a train to London and bring home £50,000+ with one of hundreds of employers.  It brings finance and debt into the purchase decision of a North East worker, that would be easier to obtain, and less of a worry for someone on a London salary.  I know that there are people in the North East that will earn a lot of money, but statistically there are fewer of them, so the potential market for this home on Green Lane, Spennymoor is naturally more limited.

Introduction to my blog on the Spennymoor property market.

This is a blog about the property market in Spennymoor.  I have lived in Spennymoor and operated from Spennymoor for some time now and I will be looking at the market in general, specific properties that catch my eye and offering tips, advice and analysis on property in the Spennymoor area.

I'll look at property from all the agents that sell property in Spennymoor.  Check out my Get In Touch page if you have any questions or ideas.

Christmas gift ideas from Amazon