Reflecting on 2025, it is fair to say that it has been a year of considerable concern, especially in respect of the economy and any uncertainties that this brings.
With over forty years experience in the housing market, I have often seen similar concerns and my view is that in the medium to long term, housing has always been an extremely valuable investment.
The current market economy may be affected by global difficulties and fuel prices which have a significant bearing on the overall challenges that we face as a country. The medium and long term advice is that interest rates will remain affordable and sensible, and certainly the deals that we have now for three or five year fixed terms are very appealing. The housing market, in volume, has remained quite steady over the last twelve months and whilst some of the applicants and buyers have reduced in recent times, however now that the budget has been released and wasn’t as “scary” as we thought, I feel that there will be a ‘bounce back’ in consumer confidence. There is no doubt that the country has significant debt and that debt has to be paid for in one form of taxation or another but it is fair to spread that debt amongst the population evenly and encourage all that are working to help pay back the costs incurred through Covid and furlough payments, as well as more recently the fuel crisis and the need to increase our defence budgets.
Back at home, an Englishman’s home is their castle and certainly, a place where they should feel they have good long term security and safety. We know that looking back on house prices, over the last ten to twenty years most people’s homes have provided a very strong investment and a good solid improvement in capital value.
The forecast for next year is highly confident with low interest rates in comparative terms over recent decades and a steady housing supply with reasonable demand expected. These are the perfect conditions to sell a house in a reasonable period of time and at a fair price in a good market.
The housing stock is likely to increase over the next few months and it is usual for the beginning of any new year and certainly the spring, to bring a fresh choice of beautiful homes onto the market which, if fairly priced, should sell quite quickly.
Here at Sanderson Young, we continue to invest in our marketing techniques and I am delighted to welcome our new Head of Marketing, David Thirlwell, who has some very exciting ideas as to how we promote our homes in 2026. The ongoing strength of social media and the channels of Facebook, TikTok and Instagram continue to impress with the number of buyers that they generate, pulling away from the more traditional strengths of the portal websites which still have an important role to play but act as a backup and support. The hard copy option is less popular but still proves very impressive, especially with our Collection magazine which we drop to houses throughout the region showcasing the strength of the market and choice of properties available, as well as the quality of those houses.
We are delighted to see increasing numbers of new homes coming onto the market and I hope that, as the cost of build settles, we will have a larger number available throughout the next twelve months.
It is also pleasing to see such great new activity on the commercial front in Newcastle, with the City Centre having a real buzz about the impending opening of the HMRC offices, which will increase footfall to retail, hospitality and social sectors. It is great to see the European style of hospitality emerging onto the pavements in Grey Street and this gives a much more cosmopolitan feel to the city itself.
At Sanderson Young, we have invested in our IT, telephones and communication strategies over the last year and also into our accountancy, as well as logistical information to improve the streamlined ability for a house to move from its availability for sale through to completion. Communication is vital to ensure efficiency and we pride ourselves on being able to do that to a very high level.
The mature team we have at Sanderson Young continues to blend well with the new recruits we are bringing on board and I am delighted to see a diversification in some of the skills we have within the company, as our age group and experience combine extremely well.
The impact of the second homes market in 2025 did suffer with the government choices and taxation but increasing numbers of people continue to be keen to follow an option of having one or two homes throughout the region and this certainly has a significant impact on the beautiful properties available on the coast.
We very much look forward to supporting the marketing and sale of your home in 2026 with my team providing considerable experience and maturity combined with first class marketing techniques to achieve the best price for the sale of your home in the shortest period of time.
If we can help or assist in anyway, please do not hesitate to contact me on my email, duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk
Happy house hunting and very best wishes for the future.
Duncan G Young
Chairman
Sanderson Young