People living in all regions of the UK are optimistic that house prices will continue to grow over the coming year, according to new report.
The latest Knight Frank and Markit House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) reveals that confidence in the country’s property market is at a three-year high, with 65.9 per cent of UK households expecting to see a jump in house prices during the next 12 months. This compares to 61.5 per cent a month earlier.
In terms of the most confident region, London leads the way with 73.1 per cent of households confident that the value of their house will increase between now and next June. However, confidence among London homeowners actually fell from May, when 76.3 per cent were expecting price rises. People living in the East Midlands were the next most confident (72.9 per cent; up from 55.8 per cent in May), followed by those in the South East (68.2 per cent).
Households in the North East were the least confident (56.2 per cent), although a year ago fewer than 46 per cent had any confidence in the region’s housing market.
“After three years of fairly bleak housing sentiment, June’s data suggests that the market has turned a corner,” said Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. “It seems clear that more upbeat economic data coupled with the Government’s multi-billion pound plans targeted at the housing market and record-low interest rates, have contributed to a sustained improvement in households’ expectations for property values,” she added.
Meanwhile, Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, stated: “Buoyant expectations have spread across the UK amid an upturn in current house prices and improving mortgage availability since the spring. Households reported the strongest increase in their property values for three years in June.”
The latest HPSIalso found that around 15 per cent of the 1,500 homeowners surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while only 8.6 per cent indicated the value had fallen.