Confidence in North East on the up
THE North East is bucking the national trend of doom and gloom in the commercial property sector, a new report has revealed.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said while demand for commercial property in the third quarter of the year across the UK has fallen at the fastest pace in a decade, the mood in the region is improving.
Nationally, 52% more chartered surveyors reported a fall than a rise in demand compared to 50% in Q2 2008. But in the North-east demand and confidence in sectors including retail and industrial is on the up.
Stephen Rose, commercial sales and lettings manager at Stockton developer Mandale, said: “The commercial property sector hasn’t had the peaks and troughs that we’ve seen in the residential property sector.
“We’re as busy now as we were last year.”
Mr Rose said affordability was making the region a popular choice - with the company now securing property deals with national and regional occupiers.
“In this part of the country property is more affordable,” he added.
In the office market, 33% more chartered surveyors in the North-east, reported a fall than a rise in office demand, however confidence is up on rental expectations compared to last quarter.
In the industrial sector demand and confidence in the region improved, with rental expectations and numbers of occupier enquiries declining since Q2.
RICS said the North-east region continues to fair reasonably well in comparison to other UK regions with demand falling at a slower pace. And confidence in the outlook across the office, retail and industrial sectors is much improved.
