20 Drake Close, South Shields, NE33 5DE

20 Drake Close is a one-bedroom end-of-terrace house in South Shields (NE33 5DE). It has a recorded floor area of 35 m² (around 377 sq ft), construction records dating it to 1983-1990 and council tax band A. The latest certificate (May 2024) shows an E (score 51), well below the UK norm with real room to improve. Earlier certificates rated it C (April 2014); the latest reading is 2 bands lower. Between certificates, lighting went from Good to Very Good; while hot-water efficiency dropped from Average to Very Poor and main heating dropped from Average to Very Poor. The recommended improvements would lift it to C (score 76), a 2-band jump. Main heating runs on electricity. At 35 m² this is the 5th smallest of 29 units on EPC record in the building, where floor areas span 25–99 m². The building's EPC ratings span F to C across 29 units on file.

It hasn't traded since January 1995, a hold of 31 years that's notably long for the area. Only one transfer is on record with HM Land Registry, suggesting it has stayed in the same hands for a long time. Today's modelled estimate of £113,000 sits 334.6% above the 1995 sale of £26,000. On a £-per-square-foot basis, the last sale (£69/sq ft) was about 39.8% below the postcode norm. At 35 m² it's 26.3% smaller than the typical home in the postcode (48 m² median across 28 EPCs). It lags the bulk of the postcode on energy efficiency (less efficient than 89% of similar EPCs). 1 bedrooms is on the smaller side for this postcode, where 3 is the typical count.