What's in store for Tynedale's housing market in 2017?

We have experienced a turbulent 2016 North East property market, mainly due to the uncertainty of what Brexit might bring. However, my opinion is that 2017 will see an increase in both activity and property prices though I do think it will be a slight improvement, rather than anything dramatic.

As always, problem properties will always prove more difficult to sell and the gems will continue to sell very quickly. We have had a fantastic autumn with lots of completions occurring. Many of these sellers will be cash buyers for 2017 and will surely help the local property market when properties are brought to the market in the new year.

The national market may be more tricky to predict; naturally Brexit seems to have affected London and the South more severely but once we pass the 12-month milestone and Article 50 has been triggered, we will hopefully see a boost in buyer confidence.

We must remember that the market in the South will definitely affect the prices of our higher-value properties in the North East as many of our purchasers for these properties are moving up.

Confidence is key - Gareth Jones, Red Hot Property

There are many predictions floating around with regard to what might happen in the 2017 property market - many of which are, unfortunately, negative! It is very easy for anyone to jump on the same bandwagon. However, let's just consider some key facts.

* There is an absolute shortage of available housing in the UK and builders are flat-out building new developments countrywide. They wouldn't do this unless they were confident of the demand and that they would sell.

* The banks are lending money more freely and at extremely low interest rates, an opportunity that will not to be missed by prospective buyers.

* The public appears to be in the mood for "getting on with things" and the recent high levels of retail spending demonstrates this.

* People will always need somewhere to live and the key factors that drive the requirement for a move are not generally linked to economic issues.

* Based on the buoyant end to 2016, a national property website has predicted a 2 per cent increase in house values in 2017.

* Web portal traffic is up 9 per cent in November 2016 as compared with November 2015, demonstrating that buyers are out there and are active.

Ultimately there are two key factors that control the property market - buyer confidence and the ability to obtain funds. The property industry and the media do have a responsibility towards and influence over the first issue, and due care and consideration must be given to what we say and how we portray our thoughts and feelings to the public. It is very easy to spook the market and talk ourselves into a bad situation.

Confidence must be drawn from key indicators and one of the biggest is surely the way the banks are behaving; after all, they have the largest vested interest in the property market! If they are lending and are happy to do so with modest deposit expectations, this must suggest they do not expect price drops or a backward slide.

If we look at which markets have been hit most recently, it is specifically prime London. This market was most affected by stamp duty reforms and the fall-out from Brexit. It has been the strong domestic and foreign cash investment buyers that have artificially propped up this market and it is those very same buyers who have been most affected by these changes (exchange rate, higher purchase costs, etc) and are now inactive.

This same stagnation hasn't been witnessed elsewhere and may even assist a little in evening up the significant price difference between the North and South. In fact sales are reportedly up by 5.2 per cent nationally (outside London) as compared with 2015! This doesn't mean there won't be any ripple effect, however, but with less property hitting the open market currently, a lack of supply can only help maintain the current healthy price levels.

If the status quo remains, in my opinion it also remains a good time to buy and sell. What won't be helpful is any further Government meddling or negative media response to current economic affairs. If interest rates continue to remain low, this may also help counter-balance the withdrawal of the Help to Buy scheme, which was so helpful at drawing in first-time buyers.

There are always two sides of a fence to sit on and generally it appears that the negative side is the more comfortable to prop against! We all love to pontificate and change can come swiftly within the property market. But until then, we will continue to do our bit and keep selling!

Good time to move - Marc Hydleman, Keith Pattinson

I think that 2017 will be an interesting year for the property market. We will be beginning the negotiations for Brexit and nobody knows how this will affect the financial markets. At present people seem to be keen to take advantage of low fixed-rate mortgages, while they are still available, and so demand for houses is still good.

If the financial markets react positively to the Brexit negotiations, then the housing market will continue to grow. If there is a negative reaction, then it could slow the market down again. However, the general consensus amongst buyers and vendors is that now is a good time to move.

The other interesting aspect will be the development of the proposed changes in the rental market, where the tenant will not be charged a fee by the estate agent. We don't yet know when this will be introduced, or exactly what the legislation will say.

We feel that there will still be a high demand for properties to rent and it could also stimulate a greater demand if prospective tenants are going to find it easier and less expensive to find a home.

Perfect storm - Neil Foster, Foster Maddison

In terms of the local market we expect to see a continued imbalance between reasonably strong demand and weak supply of property on to the market. The effect of this will be to support prices at, or just above, current levels over the next 12 months. However, as inflationary pressures begin to feed through to household incomes, we can see the supply side of the equation increasing towards the end of the year.

The perfect storm created by stalling demand (consequence of uncertainty and affordability) and rising supply could eventually have an impact on prices and therefore sales completed in the first six months of 2017 might well be looked at retrospectively as the better half of the year.

Nationally we expect to see much greater volatility. Activity in the prime central London (PCL) market is reportedly already down by around 50 per cent and while that sounds dramatic it is important to see this as giving the start of 2017 a low base point to measure activity through the year ahead. PCL prices are predicted to fall and the sooner the better in terms of rekindling activity in this sector.

Commuter catchment areas within an hour or so of central London, particularly Eastern England, have seen good price growth in 2016 but that is likely to become more subdued with a lack of buyers coming out of the capital.

However, if our buyer demographics at Foster Maddison are anything to go by, there could be an unforeseen benefit for the North East housing market with a high proportion of second-step migrators moving further out from these areas, having gained equity in their homes over recent years.

Stock shortage - Robbie Hutchinson, youngsRPS

Uncertainty plus increasingly stretched affordability will continue to weigh on house prices, so we predict fairly static price growth in 2017.

Demand for properties remains high and we hope this continues into 2017. However, lack of stock is currently an issue.

We hope that the rental market will remain as buoyant as ever.

Drop in activity - Andrew Coulson, Andrew Coulson Sales and Lettings

Our agency has experienced one of the best sales years since the crash of the market in 2007. Although the number of transactions throughout the region has slightly reduced since last year, we have gained a larger sector in the market, improving our sales numbers attributable to our out-of-office availability and our continued high levels of professionalism.

National predictions are for a decline in the number of property transactions in 2017. Our challenge will be to secure a larger portion of the market in our area for sale.

By this time next year I think the general public will be now painfully aware that marketing with an online agent doesn’t work, nor does it to market through a cheap estate agent. In this world you get what you pay for and we will always look to improve ways of selling your home for the best price and in a timescale to suit the client.