Half (50%) of consumers expect house prices to rise, down from 58% one year ago.
Confidence in UK housing is at its lowest level for five years, Halifax’s Housing Market Confidence Tracker report has found.
Half (50%) of consumers expect house prices to rise, down from 58% one year ago.
A quarter (26%) expect prices to stay flat, with 17% expecting them to fall.
Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: “With mortgages the most affordable they have been in a decade, it is perhaps unsurprising that a proportion of people remain unconcerned by the prospects of a base rate rise.
“This research suggests that for the majority of mortgage holders, there would need to be multiple rate increases before the affordability of their repayments becomes an issue.
“Housing market optimism remains at a five year low and this echoes the subdued house price performance and activity levels we have seen since the end of last year, albeit set against a positive outlook for the majority who believe house prices will increase over the next 12 months.
“Indeed, it’s encouraging to see fewer people now predicting a fall in house prices compared with six months ago. Overall, we still expect house prices to rise in line with our forecasts for the rest of the year.”
However less than a third of existing mortgage borrowers (29%) are concerned about the possibility of rising interest rates affecting their ability to meet their monthly repayments, falling from 42% in 2014.
