The historic Brexit vote which took place in June rocked the country with a result which many did not expect. The result will forever change forecasting and reality within the UK housing market. Forecasting will also affect the amount of consumer confidence which is expressed regarding housing, house prices, moving home, and remortgage. Confidence has taken a bit of a dip, according to the latest survey conducted by consulting firm ING.

The survey included 15,000 participants in 15 different countries. Attitudes and feelings about the UK housing market were expressed.

The most significant change in attitude for residents of the UK involved the perception of house prices during the upcoming year. Less than 60% felt house prices in their area would increase over the next twelve months. Relative to previous surveys resulting in 72% in 2014 and 70% in 2015, this year’s figure was extremely low.

Lower interest rates also had an effect on the opinion of house prices. About one in four UK participants believed low interest rates created upward pressure on house prices causing them to rise.

Senior economist with ING, Ian Bright, commented on the latest survey data concerning house prices, saying: “Across Europe, expectations that house prices will rise has hit a plateau, but people are still finding that the house prices where they live are expensive. It’s worrying that this is increasingly leading them to delay important life decisions, such as postponing retirement, changing jobs or having more children.”

Bright continued: “Even more concerning is the realisation that most do not expect this situation to change because most people expect house prices to keep rising. This is a Europe-wide problem and not restricted to one or two countries, with few seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.”