AN estate agent has challenged survey findings placing a North-East town as a top UK property hotspot.

According to a survey for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RSB) published today, the area of central Middlesbrough with the postcode TS1 comes second from 2,800 areas nationwide in terms of its potential for first-time buyers.

The rating places it as the North-East's most promising property hotspot.

The survey ranked postcodes in towns and cities according to factors including the potential for a return on the money invested in a first-time property.

An RBS spokeswoman said of Middlesbrough: "House price growth over the past 12 months is almost double the national average and the price/earnings ratio is relatively low.

"These factors, combined with large-scale regeneration programmes that have provided new jobs, and £500m worth of investment across Middlesbrough, have helped to make the area a great investment for those about to purchase their first home."

Teesside estate agent Michael Poole dismissed the findings about Middlesbrough as "a load of rubbish".

The estate agent, who has branch offices across Teesside, said: "Street housing in central Middlesbrough is investment-market led: it's not owner-occupier led.

"First-time buyers are not investors, they are 'livers'. The investment market in central Middlesbrough is very much student-driven.

"You have various specialist landlords buying properties because the valuations are relatively low for the yield on their investment."

Middlesbrough council wants to demolish 1,500 older terraced houses in the town centre and protestors against the proposals plan to use the survey's findings to challenge the rationale behind knocking down their homes.

Other North-East places ranking highly in the survey included Shildon (DL4) and Ferryhill (DL17), both County Durham, and Hartlepool (TS24), Teesside.

The survey claims buying in an up-and-coming property hotspot could help first-time buyers climb the ladder faster to their ideal property