Property Market? What market’s that you might say, but after the worst year for Commercial Property for at least 15 years, enquiry levels are on the increase with transactions being completed, as opposed to being just talked about, and thanks to some good news for the economy of the Region, with the hope of electric cars and wind power generation, there is at least the expectation that things will be improving soon.

Whilst the speculative development market for all forms of commercial space has pretty much ground to a halt, there are a number of big ticket transactions in negotiation that look likely to happen with big industrial announcements likely soon on Tyne Riverside and in Washington.

New space remains available in schemes which were planned in better times and which are now complete and ready for purchase or letting. Some of the highest quality modern offices on Tyneside have recently been completed by The Robertson Group/ City and Northern at Baltic Place and Naylors have 50,000 sq ft of top quality industrial space built by City and Northern/Whelan in South Shields.  Elsewhere, Caddick have recently topped out their Newburn Riverside scheme which boasts both factory and office space. With the smaller occupier in mind, office and workshop properties are available at Cramlington, Orion in North Tyneside, Team Valley, Monkton and Boldon in South Tyneside and at Sunderland Enterprise Park, so there is choice in most areas with only Washington and Newcastle missing out.

Meanwhile, our research shows that with vacancy rates having risen from around 5% to about 20% in many business property portfolios, opportunities exist in most locations for anyone needing to move premises and with rents a little lower than they were and landlords increasing the incentives available, there has never been a better time to take a property.

Rents and prices vary of course, depending on size, location and quality, but broadly speaking, offices rents are between £15 and £18 per sq ft, and industrial rents range from £5 to £6 for medium sized new to modern accommodation.

But if it’s a property investment you’re after, then yields are extremely attractive compared with savings rates available at the Bank. The yield gap between the borrowing rate and the rental return traditionally associated with property is back with a bang, so buy now whilst stocks last. The only problem is there isn’t much stock about, and if you need to borrow, the Banks aren’t terribly keen…there’s always a “But” so it seems.