Increasing number of households plan to buy a property in the next year

An increasing number of UK households say they plan to buy a property in the next 12 months. 

Knight Frank's latest house price sentiment survey found that 5.4% of households plan to buy in the next year, up from 5% recorded in April. 

The report also shows that households in all UK regions perceive that the value of their property increased this month. 

Those in the capital perceived the strongest rate of price growth over the course of the month, followed by those in the South East.

What's more, households in all regions also expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months, with the strongest growth expected by households in the South East.

Despite reports of market uncertainty being caused by next month's EU Referendum, Knight Frank's data shows the public's current and future sentiment on house prices picked up in May when compared to April.

“The steadiness of the headline house price sentiment index during such political uncertainty over the EU is a reflection that the fundamentals of the market remain unchanged,” says Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank.

“There is still an imbalance between demand and supply of housing, and for those with access to deposit payments, mortgage rates are still near record lows,” she says.

Gilmore points out, however, that sentiment among those aged 55 and over – the demographic with the largest equity stake in the UK housing market – has softened.

“While the sentiment reading for this group is still one of the highest, indicating they expect prices to rise, there has been a notable fall from last month, indicating that the current economic and political climate is affecting some corners of the market,” she says.