Business Details
44 Years
experience
Your Trusted Partner for Real Estate Solutions in Hartlepool
Established in 1982 by Denis Dowen Estate Agents Estate Agents, our company has grown to become a trusted name in property services across North East England. Acquired in 2020 by long-term employees John Nicholson and Trudie Bowes, we now operate eight branches and bespoke Auction Stores, offering comprehensive coverage from the coast to the A1 corridor. Our full-service approach includes residential sales, lettings, property valuations, surveys, EPCs, conveyancing, and mortgage arrangements through trusted panels. We adhere to the strict code of practice set by the National Association of Estate Agents and the Ombudsman for Estate Agents, ensuring transparency and professionalism. With decades of combined experience, our team delivers tailored solutions for vendors, landlords, and buyers. Our commitment to innovation is reflected in our digital presence, including property portals and social media engagement. We pride ourselves on exceptional customer service, evidenced by numerous testimonials highlighting our proactive, friendly, and efficient approach. Our intellectual property protections for property photography underscore our dedication to quality and originality. We operate with integrity, ensuring every client receives personalized attention and market-leading expertise.
Services
Residential Sales
Property Lettings
Auction Services
Property Surveys
EPCs
Conveyancing
Mortgage Arrangement
Served areas
- Bishop Auckland, Hartlepool, Peterlee, Seaham, Sedgefield, Spennymoor, Sunderland
Details
- Year established: 1982
- Licensed
- Insured
Highlights and features
- We offer over 40 years of combined property expertise in North East England.
- Our eight branches provide comprehensive local market coverage.
- We deliver competitive rates through trusted panels of surveyors and solicitors.
- Our team holds professional accreditations from leading industry bodies.
- We guarantee proactive, transparent communication throughout the property process.
Associations and certifications
- National Association of Estate Agents
- Ombudsman for Estate Agents
Payment methods
- Cash, Debit cards, Credit cards, Mobile payments, Bank transfers
What people say
Fantastic team
Professional and helpful
Excellent service
Proactive approach
Stress-free process
People
Denis Dowen
Founder
Founded the company in 1982, establishing its reputation for property expertise in North East England before passing leadership to trusted colleagues in 2020.
John Nicholson
Co-Owner
Acquired the business in 2020 after serving as a long-term employee, continuing its legacy of professional property services across the region.
Trudie Bowes
Co-Owner
Joint owner since 2020, bringing extensive experience to lead the company's ongoing development and service expansion in property sales and lettings.
Questions
What property services do you offer in North East England?
We provide residential sales, lettings, auctions, property valuations, surveys, EPCs, conveyancing, and mortgage arrangement services across the region.
How quickly can you arrange a property valuation?
Our team typically completes valuations within three days, with immediate listing on multiple platforms following client approval.
Do you offer auction services for property sales?
Yes, through our dedicated Auction Stores in Hartlepool, Peterlee, and Sunderland, providing accelerated sales timelines with transparent processes.
What areas do you cover for property management?
We manage properties across North East England, from coastal areas to the A1 corridor, with specialist local knowledge in all our branch locations.
Are your conveyancing services available nationwide?
While our conveyancing panel operates primarily in North East England, we can facilitate connections with trusted partners for nationwide transactions.
Reviews (32)
Richie C.
Nov 01, 2025
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I have been working with Dowen Letting Agency in Durham for a considerable amount of time and can truthfully say they are great to work with. The team is consistently organised, professional, and easy to communicate with. A particular mention should be made of Caroline, who provides me with the majority of my work - she excels at ensuring everything operates seamlessly and is always a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Dowen to anyone seeking a dependable and friendly agency.
Rina S.
Apr 24, 2025
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Excellent service from all the staff at Dowens. Thanks to John, Helen and Barbara who sold my property within 11 days and were faultless throughout. Thank you
Vanessa Ord
Mar 06, 2022
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Micheal at Dowens has been so supportive through the very long drawn out sale of my house, very professional and at hand anytime I needed advice would recommend Dowens to anyone and especially Micheal
Liz Lynn
Mar 03, 2022
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Just completed on our house sale today couldn't be happier with the service provided from dowens and especially Sacha keeping us updated and answering any queries very professional service
Darren Yorke
Feb 24, 2022
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We put a house on the market with Dowen and the property sold on the first viewing, they negotiated a higher price than the offer so a bonus as well, transaction went very smooth and all the team are very educated and friendly, keeping you up to date. Highly recommended From Darren and Tracey
Gary Adams
Feb 02, 2022
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Sold before details were live. Amazing team, no issues whatsoever and beat all other local agents regarding cost. Also got a good discount with their recommendation if solicitors. Will definitely use again when I need to
Thomas Dack
Jan 13, 2022
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Excellent service we've bought and sold several houses using Dowens. Three options for selling the property to choose from. Staff polite and helpful. Would recommend to anyone selling property. Thank you Dowens Team.
Bev Fowler
Jan 09, 2022
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Called yesterday to enquire about a property just listed. My question was relatively simple: which way does the house or rear garden face? The answer was 'dunno' followed by 'plus, we are only showing it to people in a position to move (which I am), the girl then stated 'we've already booked in 30 viewings so it'll sell. She didn't even ask if I was in a position to go ahead. Very disappointing. Teach some customer service skills!
Katrina Shepherd
Sep 20, 2021
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I would highly recommend Dowen when selling and buying your house especially Michael. From the initially meeting with Trudie, to the last interaction with Michael, they have been brilliant through out. Although it wasn't straight forward (due to unforeseen circumstances outside of their control), Michael went over and above to help remove obstacles, when he didn't need to, kept us constantly up to date and ensured we knew what was going on. I honestly believe we're only here because of Michael, so thank you ever so much!
Ridgeback
Jan 02, 2021
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I've just sold my home with Downs. I initially had Dowen's, Robinson's and Manners & Harrison out to value my home. They all told me the same figure. I decided to go with Dowen's because Trudy's passion for selling homes really came through during her visit. She told me how much of a close team they have and in all honesty I thought it was just part of the sales pitch. However, after having to deal with a very frustrating buyer and a sales process that dragged on for many months (no fault of Dowen's) I got to know the team well.
I spoke to both Michael and Tracy during my sale and both were fantastic and couldn't help enough. It was Andrew that primarily dealt with my sale and I can not praise him highly enough. The amount of calls he's had to repeatedly make to solicitors and my buyer's estate agents, my buyers themselves, the housing development company I'm purchasing from, its probably pushing triple digits. Nothing was too much trouble for him, he always provided me with updates and he was constantly chasing my sale for me. The whole team we great but Andrew really took it to another level. I cant recommend him and therefore Dowen's more.
I spoke to both Michael and Tracy during my sale and both were fantastic and couldn't help enough. It was Andrew that primarily dealt with my sale and I can not praise him highly enough. The amount of calls he's had to repeatedly make to solicitors and my buyer's estate agents, my buyers themselves, the housing development company I'm purchasing from, its probably pushing triple digits. Nothing was too much trouble for him, he always provided me with updates and he was constantly chasing my sale for me. The whole team we great but Andrew really took it to another level. I cant recommend him and therefore Dowen's more.
Carole B.
Jun 04, 2020
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My experience with Dowen has been fantastic. I chose them over a rival agency because their strong professionalism stood out from day one. Claire is an absolute asset to the team, she has guided & updated me every step of the way through my house move. Nothing has been too much trouble & she has made the process of selling as stress-free as possible. I highly recommend Dowen & a special thank you to Claire!
Katherine Hindhaugh
Nov 06, 2019
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I had been with another agent for 5 months and had 2 viewings. I then took the house off the market and quite by accident found myself talking to Trudie about selling as we are relocating, and arranged for her to come to the house. She went through all the options with me and was very friendly and professional. She left my house at 10.45 and within 15 minutes I'd had a viewing arranged for lunchtime.
I then had another viewing booked for a few days time and then at 3pm I had a viewing who made an offer we were pleased with and the sale is going through. Trudie rang me herself after hearing from her friendly and helpful team about the offer to congratulate me. I was so happy with the service I received and couldn't believe that they managed to sell my house within 4 hours. Thank you Dowens and Trudie.
I then had another viewing booked for a few days time and then at 3pm I had a viewing who made an offer we were pleased with and the sale is going through. Trudie rang me herself after hearing from her friendly and helpful team about the offer to congratulate me. I was so happy with the service I received and couldn't believe that they managed to sell my house within 4 hours. Thank you Dowens and Trudie.
Ruth Jayne
Oct 03, 2019
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Dowen sold our home really quickly and were excellent from start to finish. Mandy dealt with the sale of our home and communication from her was brilliant, she kept us up to date throughout the whole process. They were really helpful and answered and questions quickly. Would certainly recommend them
Lloyd Pickering
Sep 16, 2019
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Really friendly and easy to deal with. In particular well done to Mandy who was always there to take my call when I needed info on how the sale was progressing. She was a very reassuring presence in what ended up quite a tricky sale!
Kevin Platts
Apr 02, 2019
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Mandy was brilliant, nothing was ever a problem and she was quick to turn round queries and questions and always available for advice.
Kelly Zaremba Hetherington
Jun 02, 2018
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Dowen are fab! John did the valuation - he is really enthusiastic and filled us with confidence that our house would sell. John gave good advice and house was priced realistically and sold very quickly. Sally handled our sale. I always felt confident that I could get in touch with her. I do get very anxious and Sally was always calm and patient. She always phoned back and chased things for us. Thank you, Sally. We are now in a beautiful home in our perfect location.
Grace Thompson
Mar 05, 2018
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A huge thanks to Sally for helping us with our purchase. She did everything she could to to make our move happen as smoothly and quickly as possible, going above and beyond our expectations. We couldnt thank her enough for her efforts and would certainly recommend her (and Dowens) to anyone.
Heather Jarvis
Jan 25, 2018
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I cannot recommend Mandy highly enough. She dealt with our sale and purchase in a friendly, supportive , efficient and professional manner. She was always at the end of the phone to answer any queries, no matter how small, and liaised with our solicitor and mortgage broker on our behalf to ensure our sale and purchase went through quickly. John filled us with confidence from the initial meeting and it was he who rang us about the house we ended up buying and which we are now making into our family Home.
Michael Butler
Oct 19, 2017
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I have two properties in the Durham area that are managed by Dowen's. I have always found them to be very attentive and to deal with any issues quickly and efficiently. I particularly like the advice they are happy to give regarding my lettings. I find them very able when finding tenants who are suitable and appropriate for my houses.
Alison Bell Thwaite
Jul 22, 2017
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I have been very happy with the service from Dawn and the team and I am happy to recommend them. I am a new customer and have been impressed with the efficiency of processing my new tenancy and looking after the needs of my tenant. I look forward to the benefits of the fully managed service in the coming months.
Nicole Brussolo
Apr 10, 2017
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It's the first time that we rent a house, and thanks to Dawn now we're living in a beautiful house. With kindness and professionality she helped us with all the documents, solving every doubt that we had. We will recommend Dowen Agency for sure.
Yvonne Beadnell
Dowen Durham branch sold my house in Oct 2018 after it had been on the market for less than three weeeks. Their service was very professional, efficient and friendly. I must thank Mandy especially as she was always helpful and knowledgeable when I needed information or advice. She kept me up to date on each phase of my sale and made the whole process a more pleasant experience. I have no hesitation in recommending Dowen Durham branch, you'll be dealing with experts!
George Robson
This company was first class in everything it did to help us with the sale of the house. I could understand everything Mandy explained to me and she gave me great advice. The sale was quick and all the correspondence and legal papers were done to my satisfaction. Great Firm and Mandy Pledger a perfect Sales Negotiator
Ian Paul
Dawn in lettings has handled the let of one of my properties in the Durham area. There have been a few small jobs that needed doing, glazing and gas certificate etc., and these were handled in an efficient and cheerful manner. There is now a tenant in the house and I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial arrangement. Thanks.
Kay Nolan
Those of you who know me well know I am a pernickity perfectionist who demands high standards. I would also not be the first to sing anyone's praises if they didn't deserve it. However, Dowens have given exceptional service and after putting the house on the market on Friday night, we have an offer accepted on Tuesday. Every call you make and message you leave is answered or the call returned quickly.
Every question you ask is answered honestly and professionally. They encouraged us to view a property we had dismissed from the website which turned out to be the perfect property. They brought serious buyers through the door within hours, one of the first viewers having their offer accepted. I can't recommend them highly enough, especially John Nicholson for finding the perfect new home and a perfect buyer. I always thought Dowen specialised in auction properties . They don't. Check them out if you want to buy or sell. Faultless.
Every question you ask is answered honestly and professionally. They encouraged us to view a property we had dismissed from the website which turned out to be the perfect property. They brought serious buyers through the door within hours, one of the first viewers having their offer accepted. I can't recommend them highly enough, especially John Nicholson for finding the perfect new home and a perfect buyer. I always thought Dowen specialised in auction properties . They don't. Check them out if you want to buy or sell. Faultless.
Mark Earnden
I would highly recommend Dowens estate agent. We had our complications, but they were patient, hardworking and committed to selling our property and ensuring a pain free experience. The staff are friendly and simply outstanding at their job. Thank you Mandy and John for ensuring we landed our dream home
Mathew Smith
When looking to rent my first property, Dawn was excellent at meeting our every needs. Being transparent about the entire process and making it as easy as possible. With this being the first time I have ever rented, the professionalism shown by Dawn helped ease the stress of the process and we were able to move in quickly. Would highly recommend this estate agent!
Charlie Parkin
Excellent service from beginning to end. Kept in good contact when things seemed to be taking time and was re-assuring and informative throughout. A great team to buy, rent or sell your home through. A nice card welcoming me to my new home when I arrived. Thanks to Sally and the team. All the best. Charlie.
Sue Holness
We received an excellent service from the team at Dowen. They were very contactable and professional. There were lots of ups and downs along the way, having a buyer pull out at the last minute but Mandy in particular was so supportive and reassuring. I would not hesitate to recommend these guys. We are so happy with our new home, so many thanks to the whole team.
Vicky Noxoc
Great service from start to finish. All of the staff were fantastic and all had up to date knowledge of how my sale was going throughout. John gave us great advice as to how to best promote our property - setting a realistic price that we could achieve and also that we were happy to accept. Mandy kept in regular contact throughout and again gave us really good advice when we did receive offers resulting in us achieving our asking price. We sold quickly and effortlessly with thanks to Dowen Estate Agents! 5 stars!!
Kirsty Bastow
Mandy Pledger is the Sales Negotiator we dealt with throughout the process of purchasing our first home through Dowens Durham.
Mandy has endeavoured to keep us up to date and move our house purchase along smoothly. She has been an excellent point of contact throughout, answering any questions and queries. Her efforts have paid off and we are in our new property in excellent time! We would recommend Mandy for any purchases for the future. Many Thanks
Mandy has endeavoured to keep us up to date and move our house purchase along smoothly. She has been an excellent point of contact throughout, answering any questions and queries. Her efforts have paid off and we are in our new property in excellent time! We would recommend Mandy for any purchases for the future. Many Thanks
Mollie Guybax
Mandy was extremely helpful on my recent purchase. Always available to help and when she wasnt other members of the team happily stepped up to help. First rate service.