Housing market confidence hit by mortgage availability concerns

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing

Housing market confidence has fallen slightly during the past quarter as home-buyers worry about mortgage availability, a survey suggested today.

Around 78% of people expect house prices to continue rising during the second half of the year, predicting average gains of 5.5%, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk.

But the proportion of homeowners who expect further house price rises is down from the 81% who thought the market recovery would continue three months ago.

The research also found that 77% of people did not think mortgage availability had improved during the past quarter, with a third of people saying they thought problems in the mortgage market posed the biggest threat to the stability of the housing market.

One in four people said they thought a rise in interest rates would impact the housing market, while 21% were concerned that public sector job losses would derail the recovery.

Nicholas Leeming, commercial director of Zoopla.co.uk, said: "Confidence amongst homeowners remains high for the time being, but the dip does signal a directional shift as concerns are building again around the outlook for the property market.

"The fear remains that the revival in the housing market will be derailed unless the banks make a concerted effort to increase lending."

People in Scotland are the most upbeat about prospects for the housing market, with 84% expecting prices to continue rising during the coming six months, compared with just 67% of homeowners in Northern Ireland.

Zoopla questioned 5,442 homeowners during June.