Confidence is returning

Public confidence in the housing market is higher than at any point since September 2007 and the Northern Rock bail-out, a survey from propertyfinder.com found. Around 60 per cent of respondents thought house prices would rise by May 2010, while 32.5 per cent thought prices would fall and a further 8.5 per cent said that prices would be unchanged in 12 months’ time. However, 0.7 per cent of first-time buyers expected prices to grow in the next 12 months, and only 9 per cent though mortgage are affordable.