Renewed optimism for housing market
Renewed optimism for housing market
Renewed optimism for housing market
The housing market is picking up according to new figures which show that over 80 per cent of home-owners believe property rises will rise in the next six months.
Just a year ago fewer than 30 per cent thought house prices would go up.
Consumer confidence is an important factor in the success of any market and it appears to be present in the housing sector.
The survey by property website Zoopla is good news for the mortgage and remortgage markets.
The harsh winter now in the past and the stamp duty relief for first-time buyers is believed to be partly responsible for the renewed optimism.
The figures also showed that just nine per cent polled thought prices would decline, and ten per cent thought prices would remain about the same.
Of those who said property values would go up, the average rise was predicted to be 5.7 per cent by October.
Traditionally there has been a correlation between home-owner confidence and this Housing Market Sentiment Survey and the mortgage market three months down the line.
The confidence in the housing market is now at a two-and-a-half year high.
But respondents said getting mortgages was still difficult and almost 80 per cent said it had got no easier.
Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk, said: "After almost nine months of falling confidence and falling house prices, it looks like the property market is now starting to turn a corner.
"Falling prices have created attractive buying opportunities and with continued low inventory of property on the market, homeowners are increasingly expecting prices to rise in their local area.
"We still remain somewhat short of the confidence levels seen in early 2010 but there has been a clear improvement over the previous quarter and this is welcome news."
However, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has reported that it sees no signs of the UK's property market improving in the near future, and is confident that market growth won't return to pre-recession levels soon.
RICS spokesperson Ian Perry said: "The rather negative outlook for property prices across the UK seems to better reflect the general economy than the micro climate of London.
"The low level of buyer interest in many parts of the UK continues to impact on the market, resulting in some downward pressure on prices.
"With the prospect of forthcoming interest rate rises and continued shortage of mortgage funding, it seems that the overall recovery for the national housing market is still some way off."
Max Erskine of remortgagenow.co said: "Zoopla's survey is very encouraging and reflects what I've picked up anecdotally.
"The more pessimistic view is legitimate of course, but might not take into account the "necessity factor".
"This is my home-spun theory that simply states people need to move home and the longer the market knocks about in the doldrums the more people will be in need of a move.
"This necessity then makes the mortgage and remortgage markets pick up and when they are moving they need only a little push of a slight slope to give them momentum
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