Mortgage News
Consumers predict house price increases in 2010: Rightmove
The majority of people in the UK expect further house price increases in 2010 in a huge sentiment swing from January 2009, according to the Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey for January.
Over half (53%) now believe prices will increase in the next 12 months, compared to 10% in Q1 2009. Only 13% believe prices will fall over the next 12 months compared to 69% a year ago.
The confidence comes from the fact that the UK appears to be on the verge of coming out of recession and the current conditions of house price stability have provided a sufficient level of confidence for more home-hunters to re-enter the market.
A majority in all regions expect an increase in prices. East Anglia leads the way with 56% of respondents expecting an increase, up from just 9% a year ago. Only modest rises in average house prices are expected, with 46.8% anticipating a rise in prices of up to 10% and just 6.7% forecasting even greater rises.
Rightmove said with more people potentially seeking to re-enter the property market and an ongoing shortage of property for sale, sellers will in turn be encouraged to seek higher prices for their property.
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove said the consumer survey highlighted a surprisingly positive property price outlook.
Aldermore Insights with Jon Cooper: Edition 9 – Why lending strategy is becoming more central in buy to let
Sponsored by Aldermore
He said: “The property market is in a virtuous circle scenario, where consumers are seeing less property up for sale and fresh to the market property selling more quickly. That rightly gives them the impression that we are over the worst of the recent price falls, and that there is likely to be upward pressure on prices.”
Rightmove believe that the difference between the two surveys was that there was considerable uncertainty within the property market in January 2009 following on from the financial market crises of late 2007 and early 2008.
The average asking price of property coming to the market had fallen £21,649 in the space of six months against a backdrop of mortgage availability being slashed and the economic recession taking hold. However property prices have now begun to stabilise
The Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted on 32,771 consumers between 4 and 18 January 2010.