London leads UK as optimism on house prices rockets again
BRITONS are more upbeat on house prices than at any point in the last three and a half years, according to the Knight Frank sentiment index out today, as the economy recovers.
And they believe prices are rising at their fastest pace since 2009.
More than one-fifth of those surveyed believe their house’s value has risen in the past month and just 5.7 per cent said it has fallen, leaving an index score of 57.9.
Any score of above 50 indicates perceived growth in prices. In London the index came in at 67.
And the forward-looking predictions index jumped from 65.8 to 69.6, a very strongly positive indicator of prices in the next year.
Meanwhile mortgage lending came in at £16.6bn in August, up 28 per cent on the same month of 2012, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
“We are beginning to experience a healthy and broad-based recovery in mortgage lending activity,” said CML chief economist Bob Pannell.
“The Bank of England’s approvals data suggests that the positive tone for house purchase and remortgage lending will continue.”