Durham area guides
For an easy way to find information about some key local areas in Durham start by searching our Durham area guide. Alphabetically ordered by area name you'll find all you want to know about Durham - from local area highlights, the latest property to buy or rent, leading local Estate Agencies and lists of local area resources.
Situated in County Durham in Englandâ~@~Ys North East, the city of Durham is said to be derived from the Old English word â~@~\dun-holmâ~@~], meaning â~@~\hill-islandâ~@~] due to its hilly landscape. Home to a population ,00088 [1] people, Durham is well known for Durham Castle and its Norman Cathedral. The cityâ~@~Ys property market is healthy, with property prices continuing to rise. Durham has a proud coal mining heritage, but now relies on the indutries of education, health and retail. Unemployment is fairly low at 2.7 per cent [2] .
Temperatures in Durham are similar to that of the UK average, with a generally mild and sunny summer and a damp winter. Summer highs average at 19ðC and winter highs average at 7ðC [3] . Durham experiences significantly less annual rainfall than the rest of the country at 643.3 millimetres [4] compared with the national average of 1,125 millimetres [5] . It also sees 1374.6 hours [6] of sunshine per year compared with the national average of 1125 hours [7] .
Durham is easily accessed via public transport, with Durham railway situated on the London to Edinburgh East Coast main line. Frequent train services run to Darlington, Newcastle and York. The city also boasts an efficient bus network. Newcastle International Airport is located about 25 miles north of Durham and Durham Tees Valley Airport is located 25 miles south.
Durham Property Market
Similar to most UK locations, property prices in Durham continue to rise. Semi-detached houses are the most predominant in the area, making up 47.3 per cent [8] of Durhamâ~@~Ys housing stock. Flats are the least abundant at only 10.6 per cent [9] .
The majority of houses in Durham are owner occupied; however, there is also a strong rental market due to the large student population of 11,000 [10] attending Durham University. Student and shared accommodation is plentiful and it is also quite common for parents of students to purchase investment properties for their children to live in whilst studying. Not only popular with students, the Durham area is also well suited to young families.
Streets such as Westhouse Avenue and South Street are the most affluent in the city, while high to mid-priced streets such as Highgate and Kirkwood Drive are more commonly purchased. On the cityâ~@~Ys outskirts, the villages f Shincliffe and Brancepeth are the most elite. Durhamâ~@~Ys lowest priced homes can be found in streets such as Ernest Place and Garden Avenue .