This is the first time in the BSA’s quarterly Property Tracker survey that the number of people thinking of buying a property has dipped below 50% since December 2008.
The survey, which polled 2200 people during March, revealed that 59% believe house prices will rise over the next twelve months, a 7% drop compared to December 2009.
Overall, people are predicting average rises of 2.2% during the coming year, down from expectations of a 3% rise in December.
Mortgage finance continued to be a big factor in stopping people getting on the ladder, with the difficulty of raising a deposit cited by 56% of respondents.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA, said potential buyers were waiting to see the effect of the budget, the General Election and the end of the Stamp Duty holiday before making a purchase.
He added: “Once the election is over and people are more confident about the economic outlook, we hope that buyers will return to the market.”
Anthony Badaloo, manager at Church Hill Finance, added that many borrowers had postponed plans to buy in 2010 due to strict criteria from lenders.
