Media Centre
Press release
Homebuyers' Confidence Fragile Ahead of the Election
|
Date:
17 Mar 2010
|
Print page | Email |
Confidence in the housing market remains fragile according to the Building Societies Association’s Property Tracker survey, with buyers forecasting that property prices will grow, but uncertain if now is a good time to buy.
Although the survey found that people expect property prices to rise by 2.2% [4] over the next twelve months, just 49% agreed that now is a good time to buy property. This compares to 58% in December 2009, and is the first time that the proportion agreeing that now was a good time to buy property has fallen below half since December 2008.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage Policy at the BSA said:-
“It is no surprise that people are uncertain if now is a good time to buy property. Potential buyers will be waiting to see the effect on the property market of the end of the Stamp Duty holiday. The forthcoming budget and general election provide further levels of uncertainty to potential homebuyers.
“However, despite these concerns, people still expect property prices to rise over the next year, showing that they believe that property remains a good investment. Once the election is over, and people are more confident about the economic outlook, we hope that buyers will return to the market.”
~Ends~
The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents mutual lenders and deposit takers in the UK including all 52 UK building societies. Mutual lenders and deposit takers have total assets of almost £375 billion and, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of almost £240 billion, 19% of the total outstanding in the UK. They hold over £245 billion of retail deposits, accounting for just under 22% of all such deposits in the UK. Mutual deposit takers account for about 36% of cash ISA balances. They employ approximately 50,000 full and part-time staff and operate through approximately 2,000 branches.
Photographs of Paul Broadhead are available from the BSA press office, from the Association’s website at www.bsa.org.uk or Headlinemoney www.headlinemoney.co.uk
The full results of the property tracker survey are attached.
The average house price figure prediction is a median calculated by the BSA from YouGov data, excluding those that replied don't know and assuming responses are evenly distributed through each range of prices that could be chosen.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc. Total sample size was 2,200 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th-8th March 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
The next Property Tracker will be published on 15 June 2010.
