Buy-to-let in County Durham
Yields, prices, demand and local risks for County Durham, covering Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Chester Le Street and 12 more ranked towns.
County Durham in figures
- Gross rental yield
- 5.5% to 8.2%
- By kind of home, across County Durham
- Entry price, across its towns
- £76,500 to £200,000
- The cheapest postcode district's median sale
- Price move, 12 months
- +4.8%
- UK House Price Index, across County Durham
- Price move, 10 years
- +45.4%
- UK House Price Index, across County Durham
- Population
- 539,146
- County Durham, +3.8% growth
- Semi-detached houses across County Durham let for £680/mo against a median sale of £148,500 there: 5.5% gross before costs, on ONS rents and sold prices for the whole authority.
- ONS puts the median rent across the whole local authority at £650/mo, which is the figure to check an asking rent against.
- Prices across County Durham rose 4.8% over the last year on the mix-adjusted UK HPI, which is measured for the whole local authority.
- Prices +45% over ten years (County Durham)
- £11,500 stamp duty with the 5% surcharge on a £200,000 buy-to-let
- 2 regeneration awards (County Durham)
- 1,753 homes added across County Durham
- Band D £2,622 (County Durham)
- 1.6% long-term empty across County Durham
- +29% five-year forecast for North East as a whole (Savills), not this area
These figures are from Clarity's monthly ranking dataset, one method across every place so they compare. The County Durham report measures the area in more depth over its own twelve months, so its figures are the ones to quote.
What sits behind the figures
Prices across County Durham moved +45.4% over ten years on the UK House Price Index, and prices are at or near their highest.
Employee jobs across County Durham moved +8.3% from 2015 to 2024 (ONS Business Register and Employment Survey).
63% of the energy performance certificates lodged across Barnard Castle's postcode districts are below band C (4,709 certificates). Clarity measures areas rather than individual homes, so this is the share of the local stock likely to need energy-efficiency work before it meets a band C standard, not a survey of any one property.
A buy-to-let at £200,000 pays £11,500 in Stamp Duty Land Tax, including the 5% surcharge on additional homes.
The five-year forecast quoted above (Savills, North East) is a regional figure for North East as a whole, not a forecast for County Durham, and Clarity does not rank on it.
Towns in County Durham
| Town | Entry price | Gross yield | Tenant demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnard Castle | £200,000 | 5.5%semi-detached houses | 3.4/10 |
| Bishop Auckland | £102,000 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
| Chester Le Street | £135,000 | 5.5%semi-detached houses | 3.6/10 |
| Consett | £130,000 | 5.5%semi-detached houses | 2.8/10 |
| Crook | £105,000 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
| Durham | £118,500 | 8.2%terraced houses | 3/10 |
| Ferryhill | £95,000 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
| Newton Aycliffe | £129,000 | 5.5%semi-detached houses | 2.8/10 |
| Peterlee | £85,000 | 7.5%flats | 2.7/10 |
| Seaham | £116,000 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
| Shildon | £76,500 | 7.5%flats | 2.7/10 |
| Spennymoor | £125,000 | 5.5%semi-detached houses | 2.7/10 |
| Stanley | £105,500 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
| Trimdon Station | £86,000 | 7.5%flats | 2.7/10 |
| Wingate | £110,000 | 8.2%terraced houses | 2.7/10 |
Each yield is County Durham's, for the kind of home that town's prices point to, and the year's price move is measured across County Durham as a whole, so towns pointing to the same kind of home share a yield.
The County Durham report
The full report measures County Durham from its own sales: sold prices and rents for each type of home, the year's price move, crime per resident and worker, flood risk, planning designations, housing delivery and regeneration funding, with a worked buy-to-let deal on your own budget. This edition was built in October 2026.
Read the cover of the County Durham report, free, with its headline figures, before you decide.
You own this report
The latest Clarity PDF report for County Durham, monthly rebuilds included.
Read a full Liverpool report, free to see everything a report contains.
Compare it with everywhere else
The investment map ranks County Durham against every other place we cover, on your own budget and strategy. Questions about the figures or about us are answered here.
Sources and further reading
- HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index
- HM Land Registry: Price Paid Data (England and Wales)
- Registers of Scotland: property market statistics (Scotland)
- ONS: Price Index of Private Rents
- ONS: Population estimates
- ONS: Business Register and Employment Survey
- MHCLG: Energy Performance of Buildings Data (England and Wales)
- HMRC: Stamp Duty Land Tax