There has been an increase in positivity towards property values recently, according to recent findings. The Knight Frank/Markit House Price Sentiment Index revealed that the outlook for house prices has improved, as 28 per cent of households expect the value of their property to rise over the next 12 months. This results in an index reading of 53.2, which is the highest score since May this year.
The survey looked at 1,500 households and showed that ten per cent thought the price of their abode had risen in September, compared with 15 per cent who considered the value to have declined. The resulting index from this is 46.8, which is the highest reading since July 2010. Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: "This bounce in sentiment also coincides with some brighter news on the economy, with serious questions being raised about whether the country is actually in a recession." Positive employment figures and are also helping to encourage confidence in the economy, it was added.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, thought that better news concerning the labour market and a possible rebound in the economy has helped to boost positivity in September. However, he noted: "Confidence continues to be hit by poor availability of mortgage finance, high unemployment, low pay growth and uncertainty about the outlook."
The results also showed there was disparity regarding the sentiment towards property values in different areas of the country. It revealed that London households expect the biggest price rises over the next 12 months, with a reading of 63.1. This is compared with low sentiment readings in Yorkshire and the Humber (46.4) and Scotland (47.1). Earlier this week, the LSL/Academetrics index showed homeowners have a right to be positive about the market as prices for residential property investments in England and Wales grew by 2.6 per cent in August, compared with the same month in 2011.