Low interest rates ‘fuelling confidence in property values’

Friday, 18 November 2011 08:47

Brits working in the utilities, energy and transport sectors are feeling the most confident about the value of their property, but those in the retail industry are the most downbeat, new research suggests.

The Knight Frank house price sentiment index for November also found that people who own their home outright expect the value of their property to fall over the next year, but mortgage borrowers predict that prices will increase.

Meanwhile, people working in the private sector are currently feeling more positive about their house price than those in the public sector, but the margin between the two sectors has narrowed to the smallest gap since June this year, the report revealed.

Overall, a fifth of the 1,500 households polled in November said they thought the value of their property had dropped, while just eight per cent thought prices had risen.

Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The upturn in confidence among mortgage borrowers about future property prices may well have been prompted by increasing signs from the Bank of England that it will keep the base rate pegged at record lows for some time yet.”

Homeowners ‘expect house prices to fall this coming year’

A quarter of 1,500 households polled for a country-wide index said their property value had fallen this month, while seven per cent said it had risen. Knight Frank said households in eight of the 11 regions expect prices to fall in the coming year.

Property prices up by 1.2% in October, says Halifax

The cost of a home in the UK went up by 1.2 per cent last month, according to data from the Halifax. According to the lender’s latest house price index, the average house is now worth in the region of £163,311.

Confidence in property market has fallen, says Halifax

Britons’ confidence in the housing market has taken a tumble, with more people expecting property prices to fall than rise over the next 12 months, according to a report published today by the Halifax.

Buyer demand and sales ‘lift in November’

Home buyer demand and property sales both experienced a boost in November, new figures reveal. But RICS warned that ongoing economic uncertainty is still holding the property market back from any significant recovery.

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