Property prices expected to rise

Housing: High confidence levels among many homeowners over house values

More than nine in 10 homeowners expect property prices in their areas to increase in the coming months, a website has found.

Some 92% of homeowners surveyed for Zoopla expect property values where they live to continue marching upwards over the next six months – with a typical predicted growth rate of 9.5% over the period.

Homeowners were found to have high confidence levels in house price growth despite recent reports suggesting factors such as the EU referendum could sprinkle some uncertainty over the housing market in the coming months.

Those in the east of England and south east England are most confident, with 96% in both regions expecting the value of homes in their area to continuing rising in value, closely followed by London, where 94% of homeowners expect prices to keep on rising.

People in London expect to see the biggest increases in value, with homeowners in the capital expecting a double digit growth rate of 12.5% for their area.

Those living in Wales, Scotland and the north east of England tend to be slightly less confident – although the vast majority still expect prices to rise.

In Wales and Scotland, 85% of homeowners expect prices in their area to increase over the next six months, while in the north east 80% expect prices to increase.

A recent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) survey of members found a “climate of uncertainty” lies ahead for the UK’s housing market.

Rics previously said new stamp duty changes which have made the tax more expensive for buy-to-let investors, the EU referendum and forthcoming devolved elections are all behind this expectation.

However, another recent report, from Rightmove, showed that the price of a property coming to market across England and Wales leapt to a new record high of £307,033 on average in April.

Rightmove said a recent surge of buy-to-let investors snapping up properties before stamp duty increases on April 1 had enabled more people to trade up – and pushed up house prices higher up the property ladder.