THE housing market has seen a number of positive events in recent weeks, including initiatives in the Budget.
The latest Zoopla.co.uk research reveals that confidence is up among homeowners – a significant step towards a recovery.
According to the research, UK homeowners are expecting house prices to rise by 4.5 per cent over the next six months.
This is the biggest-predicted house price increase by UK homeowners in more than three years and could signal that 2013 is set to be the best year for the property market since the financial crisis struck.
The proportion of homeowners who think that house prices will increase this year is also at the highest level for almost three years, with three quarters (74 per cent) of those surveyed predicting prices in their area will increase, the most since the second quarter of 2010.
Confidence has grown notably over just the past few months as only 65 per cent of owners predicted an increase back in December. And only 13 per cent of home owners now expect prices to fall over the course of the next six months, a figure down from 19 per cent at the end of last year.
Owners in Yorkshire and the Humber are the least bullish with only 61 per cent expecting property prices to rise over the next six months.
In stark contrast, 89 per cent of London homeowners predict prices to rise by the end of summer, making them the most confident property owners in the UK.
So, with first-time buyer lending gradually increasing and mortgages becoming more readily available, there is real belief the property market is starting to turn a corner and finally drag itself out of the hole since the financial crisis.
