Last updated 13:36, Thursday, 25 September 2008

NORTHUMBERLAND-based house builder County Life – planning a development in Hexham soon – believes its strong reputation in the “grey” market will save it from the crunch hitting many other construction firms in the region.

County Life, founded by John Swanson in 1999, has just finished apartments at Shotley Bridge and Seahouses.

A £5m development at The Orchard, Corbridge, and a £2m scheme at Sele Court, Hexham, are in the pipeline.

Mr Swanson said: “We have a healthy number of jobs going on at the moment and are confident of remaining competitive in our chosen market as the current economic conditions have not affected older house-hunters as much as, say, young families.

“Of course, I would be lying if I said that things hadn’t slowed down to a small extent.”

He said that the current atmosphere of belt-tightening was affecting the whole sector, but just as they would find it hard to compete with the likes of Barratt and Persimmon, the giants would find it hard to take on County Life and its North-East retirement-market specialism.

Mr Swanson said: “It’s about sticking to what you do best at the moment.

“Everyone is feeling it, and we are not looking for much growth this year.”