There was an increase in the number of house-hunters registering with an agent across the country in December 2011, up from an average of 262 per branch in November to 294 in December.

This is according to the National Association of Estate Agents’ market report for December which showed the rise in interest compared with December 2010 when demand for property reduced to 227, from 241 in November.

NAEA president Wendy Evans-Scott said: “It is pleasing to see that prospective house-hunters remained determined to continue their search for a home despite the slowdown we normally expect to see at this busy time of the year.

“While this has not currently converted into actual sales, which were slightly lower than in previous months, I remain confident that this clear demand for property will be met with sensible pricing of homes by sellers in 2012.”

The number of homes available for sale decreased from 65 per branch in November to 62 in December last year, while the number of sales also decreased, from 6 per branch to 5 per branch on average, its lowest level in a year.

This figure is the same as in December 2010 and a reduced level is what one would expect at this time of the year.

The percentage of sales made to first-time buyers actually increased from 19% in November 2011 to 21% in December, although this figure is down on 2010 when this part of the market held a 25% share.
 

Fewer British homeowners expect house prices to rise over the coming months than at any point in the last year, according to the latest Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey.

The proportion of homeowners who now expect to see house prices climb in their local area over the next six months stands at 55%, down from 59% just three months ago.

Even though the majority (55%) of homeowners in Britain still predict an increase in property prices over the first half of 2012, the amount by which they expect them to grow has also fallen to its lowest level in a year, according to the survey by Zoopla.

The average prediction is for prices to rise only 2.2% over the next six months, down from 2.7% one quarter ago.

Interestingly, homeowners surveyed continue to believe that their own properties will fare better than the average and expect the value of their own property to rise by 2.8% on average over the next six months compared to 2.2% for other homes in their local area.

Similarly, only 24% of homeowners expect the value of their own property to fall over the coming six months whilst 29% expect house prices in their area to fall.

In stark contrast to the overall national picture, homeowner confidence in the London housing market continues to defy the rest of the country and the overall economic outlook.

72% of London homeowners expect average values in the capital to rise over the next six months, up from 68% last quarter.

And owners in the capital now predict property prices to grow by 4.7% over the first half of 2012, up from the 3.6% expected last quarter.

Whilst half (48%) of the respondents felt the key sign that the property market is improving would be when mortgage availability improves, only 11% of the homeowners surveyed by Zoopla feel it is now easier to get a mortgage than it was three months ago.

Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk commented:

“There is a lot of general economic uncertainty at the moment which is taking its toll on homeowner confidence. Until there is some good news on the overall economy, homeowners will continue to be cautious with their optimism for the property market.

"Londoners, however, are living in a market detached from the rest of the UK. Many overseas buyers continue to pile into London property to take shelter from economic or political storm clouds elsewhere which is helping to boost prices and confidence in the capital.”
Source: Zoopla.co.uk