Sunderland area guides
For an easy way to find information about some key local areas in Sunderland start by searching our Sunderland area guide. Alphabetically ordered by area name you'll find all you want to know about Sunderland - from local area highlights, the latest property to buy or rent, leading local Estate Agencies and lists of local area resources.
A city in Tyne and Wear in the north east of England, Sunderland is a former part of County Durham but now represents part of the City of Sunderland region. Divided by the River Wear, which runs through the centre of the city, Sunderland is the 26th largest city in England with a population of 280,807 (recorded in the 2001 Census) [1] . Historically, port trading of salt and coal allowed Sunderland to grow from a small fishing town to its current significant size, and the city has encompassed nearby towns such as Bishopwearmouth and Monkwearmouth. Most residential properties are located on the low hills surrounding the city and parallel to the coast. The University of Sunderland caters to 17,000 students[2] on two campuses, one within the main city centre and the other on the north banks of the river Wear.
By rail, Sunderland connects to London's King's Cross station, via York, and this service runs three times daily each way as part of a complete Edinburgh-London route. Locally, Sunderland's metro system covers a significant area of the city centre and surrounding suburbs, including Seaburn, Millfield, and Pallion, and also includes connections to both campuses of the University of Sunderland. The nearest major road to Sunderland is the A19, which previously ran through the city centre but now bypasses the main urban area. No motorways connect directly with the Sunderland urban area, although the A1231 and A183, amongst others, link through to the A1, which is the UK's longest numbered road, connecting Edinburgh to London. Sunderland is particularly mild for the UK, with an average July high temperature of only 17ðC and an average low temperature of just 3ðC in January [3] .
Sunderland Property Market
The average residential property price in Sunderland was ã130,639 (recorded between January and March 2008), which represented a 3.4% increase on the previous year. Detached houses in Sunderland averaged ã281,435, whilst smi-detached houses averaged ã131,460. Terraced housing and flats averaged ã105,275 and ã125,896 respectively. The housing stock in the city centre of Sunderland, near Sunderland Railway Station, is predominantly flats, with a 56.6% ority [4] . The district is also close to the University of Sunderland, which explains the housing type and also why almost a quarter of all property in the area is rented.
Further south of the city, in the SR2 post code, housing is mainly semi-detached, which is also true of the SR3 post code in the south west of the city, a district where semi-detached housing comprises 58.6 per cent of the total housing stock. Semi-detached housing is also prevalent in the north west of the city, in the SR4 post code, and all of these areas may be most suitable for small families, elderly couples or young couples without children. Terraced housing can be found further south in the coastal district of Seaham (SR7) and also in the area of Peterlee, further down the coast. Detached housing is considerably more difficult to find, representing by far the lowest type of available housing stock in almost every district in the city.