According to the latest research carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Halifax, who are part of the Lloyds TSB group; 35% of home owners asked said that they anticipated an increase in house prices next year. This was markedly higher than the 20% who predicted a decline. My question is: what did the other 45% think or were they simply, ‘don’t knows’? Although one may be cynical and say that 35% of those people questioned – who were in a good mood – may not be alot, it is always worth remembering that it is a higher percentage of people than those who this week picked the man they choose to be the most powerful man in the world. Figures aside, is it getting any better? Here at the coal face, I can say that there is definitely more interest from potential buyers, but no increase in prices. More people showing an interest means that potentially there is more confidence about spending money but this will not be reflected in an immediate increase in prices.
I believe that a good result would be for things to carry on as they are with no further loss of confidence in the housing market. It will get better, but I don’t think that we have turned the corner just yet.
