Britons’ housing market confidence near 3-year low

Bloomberg

Britons’ confidence in the housing market stayed near a three-year low
in March as sentiment toward the
economic outlook soured, according
to Halifax. An index of home-value expectations climbed to 44 from 42 in October, when Brexit pushed it down by a record to its lowest level since June 2013, the lender said. Fifty-eight percent of respondents predict prices will advance over the next 12 months, with 14% forecasting decreases.
The report adds to evidence that the property market is cooling under Brexit after prices boomed in the past decade. A measure of Britons’ expectations for the economy over the next year compiled by Ipsos MORI fell to its weakest level in five years last month, Halifax said. House price growth has weakened to slowest in almost four years. “Confidence in the housing market is potentially settling into a new lower ‘normal,’” said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. “We are seeing a renewed drop in confidence among consumers regarding general economic outlook, which is coinciding with UK government starting its two-year period of EU exit negotiations.”
In the survey, the balance of people who think next 12 months would be a good time to sell increased, while a gauge of buying sentiment declined to its lowest since September 2014. Londoners were least positive on buying prospects compared to rest of UK.