Quantcast
Menu
Save, make, understand money

Buy To Let

Millions plan to move as confidence returns to property market

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
04/10/2013

More than five million Brits plan to buy a new home in the next 12 months, research from Santander reveals.

Ten per cent of the population – the equivalent of 5.1 million people – believe they are likely to successfully purchase a property over the next year, up from 8 per cent or 3.7 million in January 2012.

A third of those intending to buy say they are likely to use the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Younger people are the most likely to buy, with 18% of those aged 18-34 saying they are likely to purchase a new home. This is compared to nine per cent of 35-54 year-olds and five per cent of those aged 55 or over.

By region, Londoners are the most confident about their chances of purchasing a home in the next 12 months, with one in five believing it is likely they will do so.

Meanwhile, homeowners are confident that house prices will rise this year, with 57% anticipating an increase in the value of their property compared to just four per cent predicting a fall in value. This is a significant increase in confidence since the beginning of 2012, when 29% anticipated a price rise compared to 17% expecting a fall.

Phil Cliff, director of Santander Mortgages, said: “The UK has seen a number of encouraging economic statistics emerging in recent weeks and months and our findings suggest a significant increase in confidence in the housing market. Help to Buy is certainly stimulating the market and the extension of the scheme from January 2014 should see existing homeowners who have been unable to move entering the market again.”