-One in five of 2,000 adults surveyed by Halifax expect house prices will fall
-Pessimism about economy rather than higher interest rates driving sentiment
-Only one third of mortgage holders anxious about rising interest rates affecting ability to meet repayments
Household confidence in the UK's property market has fallen to its lowest level in almost five years, a survey suggested today.
One in five of the almost 2,000 British adults surveyed expect house prices will fall in the next year, in the weakest reading for consumer expectations since December 2012.
Young people under the age of 25 and London residents were the least optimistic.
Halifax’s house price optimism balance dropped to 30 points in October, down from 44 points in the previous survey published in April.
There is a good chance the Bank's monetary policy committee will raise the base rate for the first time in a decade when it meets on Thursday.
Despite the looming increase in the cost of borrowing, gathering a deposit is the biggest barrier to buying a home, according to nearly two-thirds of respondents.
Of the 535 mortgage holders questioned in the survey, only a third said they were anxious about rising interest rates affecting their ability to meet repayments, down from 42 per cent in 2014.
The average house price stood at £222,293 in August.
source: This is money