Guaranteed rent – Jobs fear ‘holds back house buyers’
Almost three out of 10 people believe house prices in Scotland will rise rather than fall this year, a survey has shown.
According to the latest Bank of Scotland Housing Market Confidence tracker, 28% believe house prices will increase over the next 12 months and 24% predict a decline.
The poll also shows that job worries and difficulty in raising deposits are the main hurdles to overcome for those wanting to buy a home. Three-fifths (59%) identify concerns about job security, with 52% saying raising a deposit is a major barrier to buying property.
Results showed 57% believe now is a good time to buy, almost 10 times the 6% who think it a good time to sell.
The survey results mean the House Price Outlook balance for Scotland is positive, with an overall balance score of +4%. This compares with the negative reading of -18 in October’s survey when 17% expected a rise and 35% expected a fall in prices.
However, the majority think any house price movement over the next 12 months will be relatively small: 64% expect any movement to be between +5% and -5%.
Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the bank, said: “The modest improvement in consumer confidence in the outlook for house prices reflects the resilience of the housing market in Scotland over recent months in the face of a weak economic recovery and the deterioration in the outlook for both Scotland and global economies.
“Looking forward we currently expect broad stability in house prices in 2012, although there remains much ambiguity around this given the considerable uncertainty regarding the prospects for the economy.”
Scotland was found to be sixth most optimistic locations regarding house price movements out of the 11 UK regions surveyed. Results also show that 73% predict the cost of renting in the private sector will increase over the next year, compared with just 1% who think rents will fall.
The Ipsos MORI survey, conducted between January 6 and 19, monitors public sentiment in the housing market. Respondents were asked about property, defined as houses, flats, apartments and all types of accommodation. A total of 2,009 adults were questioned, including 198 who live in Scotland.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iUCOmXTuu52-NlYXC2qnyrXslOOg?docId=N0313581328264617435A