Hopes high for house price rises in next year

Public confidence that house prices will rise over the coming months is at its strongest in at least a year, a study suggests.

Some 39 per cent of those questioned by the Halifax housing market confidence tracker believe prices will generally increase over the next year, almost double the 20 per cent of people who predict they will fall.

Researchers said this was the most positive view since the quarterly series began 12 months ago, with Londoners the most confident about rises and those living in the north-east of England the least positive.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “It is encouraging that the level of consumer confidence in the housing market continues to improve, albeit from a very low base.

“This is consistent with the broad stability that we have been seeing in house prices nationally in recent months.”

Some recent house price studies have noted a “spring bounce” this year, although much of this has been put down to a rush of first-time buyers completing deals before a two-year stamp duty concession ended last month.

Halifax’s own house price index found that prices in the first quarter of this year were 0.1 per cent lower than during the final quarter of 2011.

Mr Ellis said: “We continue to expect little overall movement in prices this year, provided that the UK economy does not suffer a pronounced weakening.”

The increase in confidence comes despite expectations that the availability of mortgages will decrease in the coming months. Lenders have been tightening their credit criteria, leading to a drop in the proportion of mortgage approvals, while more than a million homeowners will see their mortgage rates rise from 1 May, some 850,000 of them Halifax customers.

The survey questioned 2,029 adults across Britain.