RISING confidence among home-buyers could be about to give the housing market a muchneeded boost this autumn, according to fresh research.
More than half of the house hunters surveyed by Propertyfinder. com said they were more positive about the market for a third month in a row, the highest level since October 2004. Additionally, the number of transactions is set to hit 140,000 in November, the highest for 18 months.
Propertyfinder's July survey provides an early indication that the UK housing market is set for a sustained recovery, a prospect which may well have been enhanced by last week's quarterpoint cut in interest rates to 4.5per cent.
On average, respondents predicted house prices would remain broadly f lat over the coming year, rising just 0.2per cent, ahead of June's forecast of a 0.4per cent fall.
Jim Buckle, managing director of Propertyfinder, said:
"Three months of sustained confidence will herald a postsummer pick-up in the housing market. Now interest rates have been cut, and with a further cut expected in the autumn, the market can steadily pull out of the doldrums."
The post-election pick-up in house hunters' confidence has recently been ref lected in the latest figures on mortgages from the British Bankers'Association and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Propertyfinder's July survey suggests that these improvements will be sustained into the autumn, as the summer holiday lull draws to a close.
The gap between buyers' and sellers' forecasts for the housing market remained steady in July.
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