Sanderson Young was launched in January 1999 and I remember feeling a great deal of trepidation at that time as I walked into the uncertain world of independent estate agency and moved out of the comfortable position of Northern Director of a large corporate agency, where I had 66 offices and nearly 400 staff supporting us.
Sanderson Young started in 55 High Street next to the old Barclays Bank in Gosforth, where we had 4 members of staff and just over 60 houses for sale, which were the remnants of a portfolio owned by Sanderson Townend & Gilbert. Thomas B. Sanderson was a Chartered Surveyor in the early 1900s and I wanted to keep the tradition of that name to represent the old coming together with the new, hence the new name of Sanderson Young.
25 years on and we have seen dramatic changes take place in the housing market and considerable variation, not just in the way we sell properties, but the way that we market them, communicate, and the way we trade as a business.
I am always very passionate about keeping business local and supporting people who work in the area where you trade, and we certainly make every effort to employ people and keep people local to the area.
Some of the changes in values over the years have been dramatic and when researching this article, I noted a detached modern house which sold on Elmfield Road in 1999 for £300,000, which I know we would easily sell now for £1.2 Million, representing a rise of 400% over the last 25 years. It is always true that buying residential property in a good popular area can be a very solid investment and there is no doubt that prices in the region have dramatically changed.
Trading conditions have also changed because in 1999 most of my staff worked with a ‘hot box’ of handwritten applicants and vendors, which we would then contact by phone to let them know if a house had come on which was suitable. The office did have computers but maybe only 2 or 3, whereas now we all have individual computers and mobiles, enabling all our staff to work remotely from any area in the region, supported by a comprehensive array of computer software including the property portal sites that support our own website.
Back in 1999, it was essential when selling your home to use The Journal Homemaker, a broadsheet paper which came out on a Saturday morning and for which an advert would cost over £1000 a page, and this was something our clients paid for. The Journal Homemaker and other regional publications have long since ceased selling and advertising properties on a weekly basis and no longer do we have to staff up on a Saturday to deal with the deluge of enquiries that would follow. The HouseHunter, a glossy property magazine which ran from 2002 to 2011, was a temporary confusion to the housing market in this region. The internet, however, proved to be a stronger medium and it wasn’t long before press and hard media were replaced by online marketing.
The other form of media which has now taken a great precedent is social media, with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other sites now creating increasing numbers of viewings for houses before they hit the market.
Interest rates have been interesting, since the normal interest rate in the 1990s was around 6% and had been over the previous 20 to 30 years. However, as we entered into the 2000s the confidence levels grew to such a level that it burst in the financial crash of 2007 and then we entered a decade where interest rates were closer to 0%, which had never been seen before. The average mortgage interest rate was around 2% and only in the last 2 years has it risen to 6% and then fallen back again to closer to 5%, with some good rates being achieved in the late 4%s. Interest rates look likely to come down more and more in the near future, along with inflation.
Here at Sanderson Young, we continue to inspire innovation across the whole of the property market; we prioritise open communication, continuous learning and collaboration with our colleagues to create an environment that promotes excellence. Collectively, we dedicate ourselves to delivering exceptional results so that we can exceed the expectations of our clients through everything that we do.
We lead by setting a positive example, encouraging each other to uphold integrity, to take accountability and to embody our core values consistently. Our commitment to fostering a culture where every team member is empowered to thrive, we strive to attract and retain top talent across all levels of our organisation which is why we deliver such high levels of results for our clients.
The last 25 years have certainly been an interesting time and a great opportunity for estate agency, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to many more years to come with interest and wonderment!
If you are thinking of buying or selling, please do not hesitate to contact the team and myself on duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk.
Duncan Young
Chairman
SANDERSON YOUNG