NORTH East estate agents are reporting a surge in activity with a rise in sales and web inquiries.
There was one report of a 450% jump in business in the first three weeks of January as people shrug off fears of an unstable housing market.
The findings were backed by web-based house search sites which also reported a dramatic increase in inquiries after Christmas.
Sanderson Young, which sells homes in Northumberland, Tyneside and Durham, saw a 24% boost in trade in the final quarter of last year with continuing growth in the first part of 2012.
Managing director Duncan Young said: “We have had a significant increase in business. Small terraced houses are selling better than big detached properties.
“In some parts of Gosforth, prices have risen by 5% but in other parts they have dropped. People are more realistic about what they can get for their homes.”
Northumberland estate agent George F White, which has three offices in the region, said there was the usual bounce after Christmas when people’s thoughts turned from turkey and crackers to other things.
Director Stephen McOwan said: “I think the start of the year was encouraging.
“But this year we have not been battered by the bad weather we had in 2010/11. This has helped.
“There have been more inquiries across the board but we will have to see if it will be maintained.” Some estate agents have mixed views about whether the surge will be maintained if the economy does not improve and unemployment continues to rise.
However Neil Foster, a director of Foster Maddison estate agents, said: “I think there is now a ‘so what’ factor.
“People are thinking that prices will not return to 2007 levels so why not move now?”
“We have seen a 450% increase in inquires and more deals agreed since December. The mild weather has helped and there are price corrections.”
There is also evidence that homebuyer enthusiasm appears to be growing after a property website reported a record number of visits. The number of hits reported by Zoopla.co.uk totalled three million in the second week of January, and more than 450,000 visits took place in one day alone.
Zoopla’s founder and chief executive Alex Chesterman said he hoped the strong start to the year was an early indication of overall market interest and increased activity.
Zoopla has been in a battle for customers with rival website Rightmove. High-profile national TV adverts may have encouraged more people to carry out searches.
Rightmove put what it called the pent-up demand down to potential buyers and sellers searching more often and researching more thoroughly as fewer homes have appeared on the market.
Despite the reported surge, analysts have forecast that the market will remain tough and fragmented.
Whether lenders tighten or relax their borrowing criteria remains to be seen.
To read more about the housing boost, see today’s Homemaker.
People are thinking that prices will not return to 2007 levels so why not move now?
