Brits see a rise in housing confidence

The UK property market could be about to see a welcome boost in 2012, if consumer confidence, as reported by the Halifax, is anything to go by.

In a new survey conducted, the Halifax has discovered that there are now more people expecting to see house prices for properties for sale increase this year, than there are who expect it to fall over the next 12-month period.

The survey discovered that 29 per cent of the British public think that the market will see somewhat of a recovery in 2012, with house prices taking an upturn this year.

In contrast, only 22 per cent have said to the Halifax that they believe house prices this year will drop, giving a difference of +7. This is a marked increase in confidence for the housing market when compared to the last survey of the same nature in October, when the same index sat at -2 percentage points, with 28 per cent expecting a rise in prices, compared to 30 per cent expecting them to fall.

In Scotland, the current difference sits at +4 percentage points.

However, no one believes that the market will magically jump forward into a huge recovery, with 65 per cent of the people who were questioned for the survey saying that they do not expect any increase or decrease to have an effect greater than five per cent.

Most people agree that the main barrier which stops people from making their way onto the housing ladder is the fact that they do not feel they have sufficient job security to be able to afford a mortgage, with 55 per cent quoting this as the main reason they would not buy.

And there appears no respite for those in the rental sector either, as 65 per cent of those questioned expected monthly charges for rental homes to rise in the next year.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "Looking forward, we currently expect broad stability in house prices in 2012, although there remains much ambiguity around this given the considerable uncertainty regarding the prospects for the UK economy."