Last updated 10:00, Friday, 28 November 2008

THE North-East lettings market remains strong, despite a glut of properties seeking a tenant rather than a buyer forcing rents downward.

The latest residential lettings survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows rents dropping across the whole sector during the last three months, as failed sellers flood the rental market with unsold properties.

Across the North of England, new instructions to let flats and houses are now at historic highs.

The influx of supply onto the market has forced rents down everywhere, but the North of England continues to fare well in comparison to the rest of the UK.

RICS North-East spokesman Richard Sayer, a partner in Rook Matthews Sayer which has offices in Hexham, said: “The buoyancy of the rental market comes as no real surprise given the decline in new housing supply and tenants’ inability to get mortgage funding, and the North East continues to see a fair balance of supply and demand.

“Investors are now returning to the regional marketplace benefiting from sharp buy-to-let price reductions and increased yield income. However, with increasing rental supply, we are likely to see rents start to level out over coming months.”