Confidence in the UK housing market has slumped to its lowest point in three years, as house hunters cancel plans to buy properties in light of the EU referendum.
According to the latest Halifax housing market confidence tracker, optimism has dropped by 14 points since March, hitting 42, which is the largest recorded drop since the survey began in 2011.
Of those who were thinking of buying or selling a property before the Brexit vote, 15 per cent said they have since delayed or cancelled their plans as a result of it.
Selling sentiment is now at its lowest since September 2013, according to the index.
Despite this, 57 per cent still expect the average UK price to be higher in a year’s time.
This coincides with research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which said demand for housing had not stalled following the referendum.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Optimism in the housing market has taken a fall in recent months, with many people now expecting a general slowdown in the market and no, or little, change in house prices over the coming year.”
He said sentiment is consistent with recent findings from the Halifax house price index, which show that prices are still growing, but to a lesser extent.
As the Bank of England voted to keep its base rate on hold in November, over half of mortgage holders expect mortgage interest rates to be the same a year from now, the survey also found.
The proportion of those expecting rates to be higher in a year’s time is 38 per cent, compared to 52 per cent in June last year.
Mr Ellis said: “Confidence with the wider economy has tracked down sharply since May 2015 but encouragingly, optimism has bounced back to where it was a year ago and is broadly neutral.”
