Confidence over house prices up

14/06/2011

By Paul McGurk

Britons are feeling more confident about the housing market, with a survey showing that a third of people expect prices to increase in the next year.

Around a third of those surveyed said they thought property prices would increase, compared to 23 per cent who thought they were in line for a fall, and just over a quarter who thought they would be unchanged, according to Halifax.

People in general are more upbeat about local house prices, with 35 per cent expecting the cost of property to rise where they live, while 18 per cent thought it was going to fall.

The majority of people do not expect big price swings, though. Around 57 per cent expected change between 5 per cent rises and 5 per cebt falls, while only a quarter thought there would be big changes.

Fifty per cent think it would be a good time to buy - more than three times the 14 per cent who think it would be a better time to sell property. This backs up a theory that consumers still think property is a buyers' market at the moment, although low levels of consumer confidence will probably put people off buying a new home.