Anyone following the property letting sector will be well aware that the first half of this year was pretty dreadful.
Well-meaning but flawed legislation and a raft of new red tape means one in four landlords plans to sell up this year and letting agencies are also faring badly. Many large agencies are closing branches and many small agencies running up the shutters for good.
But Heaton appears to be bucking the trend. Last month we received a record number of new instructions and smashed our record for rental on a two-bed property. At this point I should probably trumpet our investment in training and technology as the cause? Well, yes, they are an element but I believe our success is, in large part due to the fact that we are embedded in Heaton. And Heaton is very much on the up.
This is nothing new. Back in 2017 the TV show ‘Location, Location, Location’ paid a visit and described Heaton as “a hip and trendy suburb”. Since then the area has featured in a number of national newspapers as a great place to live and work. At Heaton Property we do not need newspapers to tell us this. We have worked here since 2005 and many of us live here.
This means we are embedded in a vibrant, entrepreneurial culture, surrounded by thriving new businesses and the young professionals who support them. On the restaurant scene, early pioneers like the Butterfly Cabinet continue to thrive and it seems every other week there is a new opening.
Our latest addition is Flint Pizza, which does exactly what the name board says pizza. But this is a far cry from the limp fast-food offering of old. The owners have imported a Stefano Ferrara of Napoli pizza oven. For non-Italians, the Stefano Ferrara is to pizza ovens what Rolls Royce is to motor cars. This is a clear statement of intent from owners who recognise that to stand out in a crowded market you need to offer something unique.
And Flint Pizza is not the result of throwing money at shiny shop fittings. The owners did all the hard graft themselves, swapping chefs whites for hard hats and steel toecap boots. They are not the first to launch a business concept in Heaton on a shoestring and I doubt they will be the last. One of the reasons Heaton is buzzing is, in Heaton you can give it a go. Shop rents are cheaper than in Newcastle’s more established trendy postcodes and other local businesses have been down the same road so, are free with advice and support.
It is a constant point of debate in our office – ‘which came to Heaton first? The boutique businesses or the young professionals who support them?’ I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer but my family and I very happy to live and work in this thriving neighbourhood. In the words of Chinese, American architect I.M. Pei “Great artists need great clients. Heaton, it would seem, has both.
www.heatonproperty.com
