North-East Property Forum

THERE is no bricks and mortar recovery yet, but the foundations are being laid for an up-turn in the housing market, the second meeting of The Northern Echo’s property forum agreed yesterday.

“No one knows exactly when the bottom will come,”

said south Durham estate agent Stephen McOwan, “but we are close enough for buyers to feel confident that we are near the end.”

The forum, chaired by Tim Haggie, of Darlington solicitors Latimer Hinks, discusses the regional property market, which has been one of the sectors hardest hit by the recession.

But Geoff Graham, of JW Wood, in Durham City, reported that March had been his best month in the past 12 months for sales, and Gordon Carver, of Carver Residential in Darlington, said his sales were up 17 per cent on this time last year when the slump first occurred.

He said: “We are selling realistically priced houses. The penny dropped late last year with house sellers that prices have dropped, and they have now reduced their prices accordingly.

“If it’s a bargain, people will buy it, and there’s a lot more of those available this year than last year.”

The agents agreed that North-East prices had fallen by about 20 per cent in the past year.

There was great debate about whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer could have done more to help in last week’s Budget.

He temporarily removed stamp duty on properties under £175,000, and some agents wanted him to scrap it completely. Others felt that would create an artificial bubble, whereas others wanted him to address the banks’ reluctance to lend.

Mr McOwan said: “If you are a young person who has to find a £20,000 deposit, and you have a joint annual income of £40,000, it’s a huge mountain to climb, so they are saying ‘to hell with it’ and deciding to rent.”

Jamie Cameron, of North Yorkshire agents Stanton Mortimer, was worried about the image of the market.

“There are houses in Teesside conurbations that people bought for £80,000 that have been repossessed and sold in the dustbin for £40,000,” he said. “You can tell people are pig sick from the slogans they leave on the wall when they depart. It’s sad that people at the bottom end of the pile have had it so bad.”

But even he felt that the market was nearing the bottom.

He said: “Some people are humming and hawing, but the chance is now there to buy a property that in five years you will have made a lot of money on. The trouble is getting the cash to get you going.”

Other agents represented were Smiths Gore, Halifax and Robinsons.