Property People: Sharon Northcott

How did you end up working in property? I've had the property bug for a number of years. In 2004, my husband and I bought our first buy-to-let

property and now have a small property portfolio. My business background was in retail buying but in my spare time I loved visiting show homes and browsing houses for sale. I was in a fortunate position where my mum owned a successful letting agency and so after having my children I was honoured to be asked to join the team at Jigsaw Letting. Before joining I sat my professional exams with Propertymark and then soon set to work within the family business. I wished I had done it sooner as I love it. Two years later, my husband also joined the business and we set up our estate agency side of the business, Jigsaw Move.

How is the housing market faring in your area? We sell and let properties throughout Yorkshire and the performance of the housing market can vary between different towns and villages. There are still magical hotspots outperforming other areas but this will always be the case, after all locationis so important. For us lettings is and always has been particularly strong and even with recent changes on tax we still have new landlords entering the market and the quality of stock has also improved.

Are there any up-and-coming places? Our local town Selby is still a good place to buy a home and the rental market in this area is really strong as Selby is well placed by being just outside York and Leeds with great commuting links. There is a good amount of investment in the area with new homes and industrial units springing up and there are new coffee shops and restaurants in the town.

If you were the Housing Minister what would you do and why? One of the biggest things would be to slow down on new regulations as there never seems to be enough time for the dust to settle before another change happens and each and every letting/estate agency needs to conform overnight. However, it is no surprise as the Housing Minister has changed seven times in the last five years.

Where and what your ideal home? I'm definitely a home bird, even at the tender age of 18 when I went to university I came home every weekend while my friends stayed partying. Therefore, as long as my home is somewhere near to my family and has good cycling routes nearby I'm in heaven. A dream holiday home location would be Italy as I love Italian food. Lake Garda would be the most idyllic setting as long as all of my family could come with me.