Britons Less Optimistic on House Prices, Survey Says - Bloomberg

Britons Less Optimistic on House Prices, Survey Says - Bloomberg

The number of Britons who expect house prices to rise this year decreased in the last three months as concerns about the economy mounted, Rightmove Plc said, citing a survey.

About 24 percent of 28,401 U.K. consumers surveyed this month said prices will be higher in a year, the operator of Britain’s biggest property website said in a report released in London today. That compares with a result of 27 percent in October and 53 percent a year earlier.

House prices may remain under pressure this year as banks curtail lending and the government steps up spending cuts to tackle a record budget deficit. Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, while inflation accelerated to an eight-month high in December, deepening a split among Bank of England officials on the future of policy.

“A lot hangs on economic recovery,” Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said in the report. “For many, the relatively low cost of borrowing money means it really is a good time to buy, though the shortage of available property in some popular locations, and demanding criteria set by lenders, mean that it is not necessarily an easy time to buy.”