Nine properties crossed the desk yesterday. Three are worth a second look, three are auction lots I need the terms on, and three fail on the rent.
The three worth pursuing are in Stanley, Bedlington and Ferryhill. Gross yields run from 6.3% to 14.4% across the nine, which sounds like a wide range until you notice what causes it: the asking prices are all in a similar band, and it is the rent that moves. That is the whole business in one line. Price tells you what a seller wants. Rent tells you what the house can carry.
Three lots — Wheatley Hill, Consett and Seaham — are being sold at auction, so I need the terms before I can say anything useful about them. Three more, in Houghton-le-Spring, South Hetton and Horden, fail on the rent at the price asked. I would rather say that plainly than send them on and let someone else discover it at the valuation.
No market-wide screen ran yesterday. Every figure here comes from the individual properties, and the yields are gross, which is a sorting exercise rather than evidence.
If you are buying in the North East this year, tell me your budget and the return you need. I screen a lot and send very little, and I would rather send you one that works.