SURVEYS SHOW GROWING CONFIDENCE IN HOUSING MARKET

Three surveys just published show increasing confidence in the housing market. Nearly 40% of respondents to The Halifax ‘Housing Market Confidence tracker’ poll expect house prices nationally to increase next year – almost double the proportion that believe they will go down. At the same time, a similar poll by property portal Zoopla reveals that 67% of British home owners believe that house prices will rise over the next six months, with the average property price across Britain predicted to rise 3.9% during this period. In the third poll, from the Post Office, 14% of aspiring first-time buyers who plan to buy within the next five years expect to buy this year and 22% next year. Almost half (45%) are confident of being able to fund the deposit themselves by saving up, while 16% will get help from their parents and the same proportion by using the Government’s FirstBuy scheme. The Zoopla poll also shows that people are now finding it easier to get a mortgage than at the end of last year, with 17% saying availability has improved. The Halifax survey indicates that most people still think of it as a buyers’ market: 55% think now is a good time to buy, more than double the 24% who believe it is a good time to sell. Adam Offer, managing director of leading south west estate agents, Besley Hill, said these findings reflected a general view that the tide has turned and a recovery in the housing market is now underway.