Buy-to-let in Sunderland
Yields, prices, demand and local risks for Sunderland, covering Houghton Le Spring, Sunderland, Washington.
Sunderland in figures
- Gross rental yield
- 6.9% to 10.4%
- By kind of home, across Sunderland
- Entry price, across its towns
- £62,500 to £125,000
- The cheapest postcode district's median sale
- Price move, 12 months
- +7.2%
- UK House Price Index, across Sunderland
- Price move, 10 years
- +39.3%
- UK House Price Index, across Sunderland
- Population
- 287,070
- Sunderland, +4.9% growth
- Flats across Sunderland let for £610/mo against a median sale of £70,000 there: 10.4% gross before costs, on ONS rents and sold prices for the whole authority.
- ONS puts the median rent across the whole local authority at £707/mo, which is the figure to check an asking rent against.
- Prices here rose 7.2% over the last year on the mix-adjusted UK HPI, which is measured for the whole local authority.
- Prices +39% over ten years
- £3,125 stamp duty with the 5% surcharge on a £62,500 buy-to-let
- 2 regeneration awards
- 771 homes added
- Band D £2,197
- 1.5% long-term empty
- +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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland moved +39.3% over ten years on the UK House Price Index, and prices are at or near their highest.
Employee jobs across Sunderland moved −1.7% from 2015 to 2024 (ONS Business Register and Employment Survey).
50% of the energy performance certificates lodged across Sunderland's postcode districts are below band C (68,702 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 £62,500 pays £3,125 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 Sunderland, and Clarity does not rank on it.
Towns in Sunderland
| Town | Entry price | Gross yield | Tenant demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houghton Le Spring | £120,000 | 6.9%terraced houses | 4.1/10 |
| Sunderland | £62,500 | 10.4%flats | 4.2/10 |
| Washington | £125,000 | 6.9%terraced houses | 4.1/10 |
Each yield is Sunderland's, for the kind of home that town's prices point to, and the year's price move is measured across Sunderland as a whole, so towns pointing to the same kind of home share a yield.
The Sunderland report
The full report measures Sunderland 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 Sunderland report, free, with its headline figures, before you decide.
You own this report
The latest Clarity PDF report for Sunderland, monthly rebuilds included.
Read a full Liverpool report, free to see everything a report contains.
Compare it with everywhere else
The investment map ranks Sunderland 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