HOUSE PRICES TO RISE BY 20%

Despite the latest UK Housing Market survey carried out by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors showing a recent fall in property values, house prices are set to soar by almost 20 per cent in the next four years, according to a national newspaper report.
This will lift thousands of households out of negative equity, with the average family home gaining more than £30,000 in value - a forecast that defies doom-mongers who predicted that Britain would face a double-dip housing recession, reveals the Daily Express.
The newspaper quotes Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at the Nationwide building society, as saying that it’s not a double dip and it’s not a massive boom, which would not be good for the market.
“People can be cautiously optimistic,” says Mr Gahbauer. “If it turns out that way, it would probably lift quite a few people out of negative equity within two to three years.”
And Emma Partridge, of Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, offers further good news for home owners.
She states: “Because this is happening at the same time as low interest rates, it’s providing people with the opportunity to pay more to improve their equity. And if there aren’t going to be any further drops in house prices then that enables people to bolster their equity as well.”
The respected Centre for Economics and Business Research says that a “fundamental shortage of housing supply” will steadily drive up prices this year and next, with a further five per cent increase expected in 2012.
The growth is due to continue with a 5.4 per cent increase in 2013 followed by a 3.9 per cent rise in 2014.
Based on the latest estimates, the average price of a home in Britain would rise from £179,000 at the end of 2010 to £212,000 by 2014.
These findings are endorsed by Adam Offer, managing director of Besley Hill, Bristol and Gloucestershire’s biggest group of independent estate agents with 15 offices throughout the area.
“The property market's long-term prospects locally remain particularly strong,” he comments. “Although we have had a bumpy and unpredictable few years, positive long-term fundamentals in residential property remain.
“The UK has high population density, restrictive planning laws, and a desire for home ownership which means meeting demand with supply will always be difficult for many years to come. Although economic growth is fragile at present, it will return as throughout the UK residential property has gained 117 per cent in the last 10 years even with the recent economic downturn.
“Indeed, statistics behind our website - www.besleyhill.co.uk - clearly show demand bubbling away with over 200,000 hits last month, with this month likely to exceed this number, coupled with over 60,000 sales detail downloads for the same period.
“Pent-up demand is clearly out there - with many buyers returning to the market as prices start to flatten once again.”