Homeowners are less optimistic about the increase in house prices over the next 12 months, new research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks reveals.
The proportion of people who expect the price of their home to grow in the next year has dropped to 49 per cent now, compared to 54 per cent in January and 55 per cent last year.
Although fewer homeowners now believe that prices would grow, the share of people projecting a decrease remains the same as in January (2 per cent). In 2014, the proportion of people across the country expecting prices to decline was 3 per cent.
The survey also found that Londoners are the most optimistic with 73 per cent anticipating an increase in the value of their home, followed by 62 per cent of those in the South East and 56 per cent of those in the East.
In sharp contrast 11 per cent of those surveyed in the North East expect the value of their home to decrease, a view shared by 6 per cent in the North West and Scotland.
Steve Fletcher, director of retail banking at Clydesdale and Yorkshire, said:
“It has been positive to see confidence returning to the property market however our latest research has shown that this is levelling out with a drop in the number of people who believe their home will increase in value over the next year.
“There are still a number of property hot spots, such as London and the South East, where property prices are rising and we anticipate that this will continue however this is not mirrored across the UK as a whole.”
