From left to right, Adam Swalwell from Mortgage Advice Bureau, Martin Williamson and James Carver

After one of the busiest years for estate agents, solicitors and mortgage brokers, Darlington-based property experts are predicting that the property market will defy expectations of doom and gloom in 2022.

Despite a national drop in house sales by 50 per cent month-on-month in October 2021 and an expected increase in the Bank of England base interest rates, Martin Williamson, director and head of residential at Latimer Hinks Solicitors, is confident that that the local property market will continue to boom in the new year.

During 2021, the housing market flourished both locally and nationally, caused in part by the recent stamp duty holiday and by historically low interest rates.

Martin Williamson said: “Last year was among the busiest we have seen for property deals in living memory. A heady combination of the stamp duty holiday, pent-up post-pandemic demand, and low interest rates were all contributing factors. But so too is the government spotlight on the North East, with Darlington and surrounds benefiting from direct investment and the relocation of government administration.

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“Despite the spectre of rising borrowing costs and notwithstanding the usual winter slowdown, there seems little prospect of the market cooling off in our area, any time soon. There is still a backlog of people looking to relocate after recent lockdowns and a surge in people moving to our area.

“Buyers should be prepared for another year of significant competition to bag their dream home!”

James Carver, a director at Carver Residential, said: “We continue to see extremely high levels of demand for properties coming to market across our region, with limited supply of available properties driving competition resulting in multiple buyers per property in most instances.

“While we will see the level of transactions be much lower than 2021, we are expecting the property market to continue to be buoyant through 2022 with a huge amount of positivity around Darlington and the surrounding areas.”

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