Record number of homeowners forecast house price growth
04-24-2014
Around 42 per cent plan to carry out home improvements over the next six months
Alex Johnson Author Biography
Homeowners believe UK house prices will rise by 8.8 per cent between now and September, according to Zoopla.
The survey of nearly 5,000 UK homeowners shows that a record 95 per cent of homeowners expect house prices to rise over the next six months, up from 74 per cent this time last year. Only three per cent of those surveyed think that prices will remain flat over the next six months. Around two per cent predict a house price fall, down from 13 per cent a year ago.
Around 42 per cent plan to carry out home improvements over the next six months, while almost a third are planning to buy a property in the next year, up from a fifth in January.
Although 97 per cent of Londoners expect house prices to rise further over the next six months, the largest jump in confidence is in Wales where the proportion of owners who expect property prices to increase over the next six months has risen from 85 per cent to 92 per cent over the last three months.
"Homeowners across the country are going one step further this year and planning to invest in more substantial home improvements," said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk. "As properties receive more and more viewings from interested buyers, smart sellers are seeing all the signs of strong demand in the market and are looking to capitalise on potential capital gains to be had.
"UK homeowners are expecting house prices to rise at a higher rate than ever before, and this confidence in the property market recovery is finally filtering out of London and across the UK. With prospective sellers eager to take advantage of a buoyant market and buyers wanting to snap up the best properties before they slip out of reach, indications suggest the market will remain strong over the coming months as increased supply and buoyed confidence drives activity on all rungs of the ladder."