Brits remain confident in housing market, despite economic gloom
Friday, 16 December 2011 10:29
A new survey has revealed that British people are relatively confident about the future of the housing market, despite all the economic problems being experienced at present.
The 14th quarterly Property Tracker survey from the Building Societies Association (BSA) showed that 44 per cent of consumers think now is a good time to buy a property, while a quarter said they thought it was not.
This is slightly better than in March 2011, when the figures were 41 and 29 per cent respectively.
In terms of age groups, the over-55s were the most confident in buying homes now, while 18 to 24-year-olds were the least bullish.
However, sentiment varied geographically too, with Scots and those in the south-east and north-east of England the most positive and Londoners most pessimistic.
Despite this confidence, only 12 per cent of the respondents said they intend to buy in 2012, with 63 reporting they will be staying put. The most common barriers to making a purchase were raising a deposit, getting a mortgage and insecurity over jobs.
When asked about house prices, a third expected them to rise, while 28 per cent said they think they will fall over the course of next year.
BSA head of mortgage policy Paul Broadhead said the figures are reassuring.
"Although there has been a stream of gloomy economic news recently and the uncertainty about the eurozone has increased dramatically, consumers' views on the housing market remain remarkably solid," he added.
This follows a recent Rightmove survey, which found that 63 per cent of people believe property values will either stay the same or go up, while 31 per cent expect them to fall.
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