All these homes were offered for sale in the Tyne Valley during 2016.

* Eastgate Bank, High Mickley: detached three-bedroom family home with outstanding views, marketed by Rook Matthews Sayer and sold in August for more than the asking price of £250,000.

Branch manager Helen Forrester said: "This property had fabulous views over St John's Church and the Tyne Valley beyond with lovely gardens and attracted a lot of interest due to its position.

"It was vacant, the previous owner having died. It had been in the family for many years, having been used periodically as a holiday home.

"The buyer bought the house as a surprise for his girlfriend and upon completion, he took her there and proposed. She said yes!"

* West Oak Farmhouse, Broomley: marketed by youngs RPS at £395,000 and recently sold, subject to contract.

Manager Kim Harrison said: "This stood out for us this year because it attracted a huge level of interest and eventually went to best and final offers.

"It is an exciting development opportunity with planning permission, situated in the idyllic rural village of Broomley."

* West Fell, Ladycutter Lane, Corbridge: large late-Victorian country home marketed by Foster Maddison at just over £1m.

Director Neil Foster said: "We completed the sale for just under £1m in June after first listing the property in November 2015. West Fell was originally brought to the market by a Newcastle-based estate agency in June 2014, beautifully presented but with a significantly higher asking price than the market was prepared to entertain.

"West Fell is one of those quintessential Tyne Valley country houses which all too rarely come up for sale. The Victorian detached house offered a variety of living space plus five bedrooms and the ancillary cottage generated an income from holiday letting.

"Most importantly the property included extensive private grounds, outbuildings, stables and 18 acres of land.

"From our perspective this probably represents close to the most desirable combination for buyers searching in and around Corbridge and the centre of the Tyne Valley.

"The owners, having lived there for many years, decided to downsize to a bungalow in the village so timing the sale to coincide with the availability of a suitable property was of paramount importance. In turn, finding a price point at which we could generate a sustained level of inquiry was key to making progress towards a sale.

"The property was on the market for nearly 18 months before Foster Maddison was appointed as joint agent and in the five months that followed we arranged a total of 16 viewing appointments and agreed the sale to a buyer relocating out of Newcastle.

"We had some background work to do on the conveyance with the whole property being held under three separate titles but that is where experience often comes into play in keeping momentum in the deal. The timescale between acceptance of offer and completion was around 10 weeks which, for a property of this complexity, is probably close to what would be acceptable.

"Unfortunately for both Foster Maddison and buyers searching for property of this calibre, they come along all too infrequently so, for that alone, West Fell is our nomination for the stand-out sale of 2016."

* Homes in Hexham and Corbridge, marketed by Red Hot Property for around £50,000 above the asking price.

The company's managing director Gareth Jones said: "I love selling property. Each day is different, each home unique and each set of circumstances behind the sale varies.

"For this reason, our role is often very personal and I always take very seriously the responsibility for selling most people's largest asset.

"On this basis, I have never had a favourite sale. Our focus is instead towards each particular client's success and to achieve them the best possible price, deliver on our promise and avoid them any unnecessary stress.

"However, we do have a special 'group' of sales which we fondly nickname 'the 50k club'! These particular sales have achieved a sale price upwards of £50,000 above asking price (or more). The featured homes all joined 'The 50k club' with us.

"This year saw many best and final offers (ie, where more than one person is bidding for the same home) and it has become very unusual to see large drops from asking to selling price.

"Red Hot Property have always worked tirelessly to achieve the best sale price for our clients and the £50k club proves this. Ultimately any agent can sell, but selling for the best price is what makes us award-winning and Red Hot!"

* Sunnybrae in Allendale Road, Hexham, offered by Keith Pattinson at £199,950 - sold for £220,000.

Branch manager Marc Hydleman said: "This house was outstanding to me not because of it being at the top of the range or particularly special, more so because of the circumstances of the sale and the change it made to the vendor's life. The sale also provided the opportunity for the buyers to make it into a home for themselves.

"The vendor had lived there for over 40 years and it would be fair to say that it had been let go after his first wife died. When he called us to put it on the market for him, he had the appearance of someone who had all the troubles of the world on his shoulders.

"We concluded that the best way for him to go would be to sell through our auctions and by pricing it correctly, there should be a lot of interest generated.

"The house suited the auction as the vendor was not involved in a chain and the house had a lot of potential for people to purchase as an investment and turn round at a profit; to purchase, refurbish and modernise then let out or to modernise and make into a family home for them to live in.

"The house needed somebody to put their heart into it and the vendor needed to move on.

"The interested generated was huge and we organised approximately 50 viewings. In the end there were five interested parties all bidding for the house. The vendor was very happy with the price we achieved and the purchasers were delighted to get the property and are now developing it to their taste.

"Shortly after the sale completed, the vendor called in to our office to thank us for all we did for him and I didn't recognise him at first. He looked 20 years younger and obviously had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders."

* The Manor House, Barrasford: detached country home in a village setting, offered by Finest Properties for £1.25m with sale now completing.

Managing director Ryan Eve said: "I chose the Manor House in Barrasford as my stand-out property because it’s difficult not to fall in love with this place; in fact, the photos cannot truly illustrate what a stunning position this property sits in.

"The Manor House offers the best of both worlds, being situated on the edge of the village, just a minute’s walk to the excellent pub, yet with wonderful views towards Haughton Castle and beyond.

"Our clients have painstakingly renovated the property, installing extremely tasteful, high-quality fixtures and fittings and this has gone down very well with prospective purchasers, resulting in a good amount of interest for a property in this price range.

"It was always a real joy conducting viewings at this house, especially on a summer's day."