Surveys
Home Values Rose In July For Fifth Consecutive Month – Knight Frank
Households perceived that the value of their homes rose in July for the fifth consecutive month, according to the August House Price Sentiment Index from Knight Frank and Markit.
The index revealed that more than 18 per cent of the 1,500 homeowners surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 7.4 per cent said the value had fallen, giving a HPSI reading of 55.3. This figure is slightly down from last month’s record reading of 56.8, but still marks the second highest reading since the spring of 2010. The data signals that households feel that the value of their home has risen every month in the last five months, the longest period of positivity on prices in nearly three years, the firm said.
Knight Frank said that households in nine of the eleven regions reported that the value of their home had risen in April, with the exception of Wales (47.6) and the North East (47.9).
The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, dipped slightly in August from July’s series high, but it signals that there are still sustained levels of confidence that house prices will climb over the next 12 months.
“House price expectations have gained momentum in recent months, indicating a deeper confidence in the housing market. “August’s future HPSI reading suggests a slight easing in price expectations even after the Bank of England’s ‘forward guidance’,” said Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank.
Overall, the index reading slipped to 65.8 from 69.1 in July. But on a smoother three-month average basis, the future HPSI reading was 66.9, the highest level since April 2010, up from 65.5 in the previous three-month period.
The Knight Frank/Markit House Price Sentiment Index survey was first conducted in February 2009 and is compiled each month by Markit. The survey is based on monthly responses from approximately 1,500 individuals in Great Britain, with data collected by Ipsos MORI from its panel of respondents aged 18-64.
