AROUND 80 per cent of homeowners predict property prices will rise over next six months says Lawrence Hall at property website, Zoopla.co.uk
The latest Property Sentiment Survey from Zoopla.co.uk reveals 80 per cent of UK homeowners are predicting property values will rise over the next six months, the highest level for three years.
In an indication that confidence is flooding back into the housing market, Zoopla's poll of 5,863 homeowners found that four out of five of them now expect prices to rise in their area before the end of the year, the biggest proportion since the second quarter of 2010. Just seven per cent of homeowners across the UK expect house prices will fall between now and Christmas, down from 13 per cent just three months ago.
The amount by which the average homeowner expects prices to rise is also at its highest in three years. UK homeowners now predict property prices will increase by an average of 4.8 per cent over the next six months, up from 4.4 per cent three months ago. Property owners are also much more confident about mortgage availability. 26 per cent believe attaining a mortgage now is easier compared to three months ago.
Homeowner confidence has improved throughout the UK, not just the South East, with nine out of eleven regions seeing an increase in the proportion of homeowners who think prices will rise over the next six months. Scotland and the South West of England are the only regions where confidence has fallen over the last quarter.
The biggest increase in confidence among homeowners is in the West Midlands, where 78 per cent of homeowners now believe house prices will climb in their region over the next six months compared to only 63 per cent three months ago. Londoners remain the most confident, with 93 per cent of homeowners in the capital expecting property values to rise in the next six months.