North of England land and estate agent George F White has good news about the market. During the last three months it says it has seen considerable market activity after a very barren period beginning in September 2007. “We believe that the property market has now stabilised and will remain so with occasional bursts of activity for the foreseeable future”: says George F White’s Tim Brown. 

“Many people were holding off selling in the hope that prices would rise, but when this did not happen, expectations became more realistic. Spring is the usual time for an upturn, however the activity this year, hailed as a full recovery by many is not something that here at George F. White we would agree with. 

“House prices are likely to remain static or even dip slightly over the next few years and it is likely to be 2012 before we see house prices rising again in the North East. The market in the North is influenced by what is happening to prices in London and the South but it usually takes about two years for changes to filter through across the country. 

“Although there are people wanting to buy and sell property, the banking crisis and subsequent credit crunch has meant that in some of the areas buyers are struggling to source funding. Although the bank base rate remains low, mortgage rates are already starting to rise. Despite calls to ease these rates, interest on the average mortgage is now 6% with many buyers also being asked for a 25% deposit. Cash buyers for properties in the £500,000 to £1million bracket who are able to complete fairly quickly can pick up properties priced at about 80% of their 2007 highs.

“There are still opportunities from which vendors can benefit. The underlying message is that residential property is now almost certainly at its low, so for those fortunate enough to be in a position to buy many properties represent great value for money. 

“From a vendor’’s point of view, now is a good time to look at putting your property on the market as we do not anticipate properties rising in value for some time. As once you are a cash buyer they will be in a much stronger position from which to negotiate a subsequent purchase. 

“The sectors continuing to perform well are Lifestyle properties with buyers in this sector seemingly relatively immune to the financial downturn, and Farmland, as investors see it as a comparatively safe haven in which to invest.

“It will be some years before we see another property boom, and during this lull both vendors and buyers should take advantage of what is a relatively stable market with more realistic expectations on both sides. We are hoping that the Spring surge will be repeated in late Summer and early Autumn.