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House hunters expect prices to keep rising

More than half of people expect house prices to continue increasing during the coming 12 months, a survey has shown.

Around 53% of people expect further rises in the cost of property during 2010, compared with 10% of people in January 2009.

13% now think house prices will fall, down from 69% 12 months ago, according to property website Rightmove.co.uk.

The group said positive price sentiment is a very important force in any housing market recovery, and the high proportion of people expecting further price rises is “very encouraging”.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “Given the looming election and the talk of pending austerity packages ahead, this consumer survey highlights a surprisingly positive property price outlook.”

But people are expecting only modest price increases, with 47% expecting prices to rise by less than 10% during 2010, while only 7% think there will be double digit gains.

The latest figures compare with 37% of people who were predicting that property would lose at least 10% of its value in 2009.

Mr Shipside said: “The property market is in a virtuous circle scenario, where consumers are seeing less property up for sale and fresh to the market property selling more quickly.

“That rightly gives them the impression that we are over the worst of the recent price falls, and that there is likely to be upward pressure on prices.”

The group also found that 69% of people would not put off or speed up a decision to move home because of the looming general election.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .