Rise in optimism over house price rises in 2013

Tuesday 1 January 2013

Scots are among the most optimistic about house prices rising over the coming year, research suggests.

Custom byline text:

Across the UK, confidence that house prices will increase over the next year has gone up to its strongest level in at least 18 months.

Nearly four in 10 (38%) of people believe house prices will rise in 2013, while less than one-fifth (18%) forecast declines, the Halifax study said. Confidence levels in Scotland outstrips London, Wales, and east and north-east England.

The overall price outlook balance – worked out by subtracting the share of people who expect price falls from those who predict rises – stands at 20, the highest reading since the survey began in April 2011.Despite the overall increase in confidence that house prices would rise, Halifax found evidence the market would remain fairly sluggish. Some 53% of those surveyed said 2013 would be a good time to buy, almost four times as many as the 13% who said it would be a good time to sell.Only 9% thought it would be a good time to both buy and sell in the coming months, suggesting activity will still be subdued, the research claimed.Halifax recently said it expected house prices to remain flat over the next year, while some other surveys predicted small increases or decreases.The south-east of England was the region where people were most likely to predict price rises, closely followed by Yorkshire and the Humber.People living in Wales and eastern England were least likely to say prices would rise.London, where the market has remained relatively strong due to interest from overseas buyers, also had a below-average share of people predicting house price rises this year.Some studies have suggested the London market could cool off slightly next year, although it is still expected to be one of the strongest regions for house price growth.Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said the "remarkable stability" of the housing market despite the difficult economy is likely to have been key in lifting people's house price expectations for 2013.But added: "Ongoing concerns over job security and the challenges in raising a deposit are likely to constrain housing demand and activity next year. Accordingly, we expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally in 2013."The number of mortgages on the market has increased by around one-fifth since a multi-billion pound Government scheme was launched in August to boost lending.But 58% of those surveyed said concerns about job security were a barrier to buying a home and 55% said raising a deposit was still a big hurdle.

Contextual targeting label:

Finance

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Rise in optimism over house price rises in 2013

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED