House price optimism rockets

Almost half of UK homeowners are optimistic that the value of their homes will increase over the next 12 months, research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks has revealed.

London continues to be the most optimistic region with 63% predicting an increase in house prices compared to 53% six months ago.

Andrew Pearce, retail director for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, said: “It is encouraging to see optimism returning to the property market with a significant increase in the number of people who believe the value of their property will increase.”

But optimism waned north of the border with 35% of Scots feeling confident that their homes would go up in value although this was an improvement on April’s survey when just 20% believed their house value would increase.

The most significant upsurge was in the East where 50% of homeowners predicted an increase in the value of their home compared to 14% in April 2013.

Men remained more confident than women when it came to the value of their home. The research showed more than half of men (54%) believed their property would increase in value over the next 12 months compared to 42% of women.

Peter Lawrence of Lawrence Rand added: “The property market is built on confidence and it is encouraging to see that homeowners are feeling positive about prices. This, in turn, is seeing greater numbers of people looking to move home.”