Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey Q1 2010 - Majority in UK Expect Further Price Increases in 2010

LONDON, January 27 - The first Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey of 2010 reveals a
remarkable year-on-year shift in the expectations of the British public
regarding house price trends. In our Q1 survey for January 2009 we posed the
question: "Where do you think average house prices(
www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html) will be one year from now?" The
results showed that just under 10% of respondents believed house prices would
increase over the next 12 months. Now, one year later, the Q1 2010 survey
finds that more than half (53%) of all respondents believe that house
prices(www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html) will increase in the
year ahead. Positive price sentiment is a major force in any housing market
recovery and this, the first insight into sentiment in 2010, provides a very
encouraging indication from a consumer viewpoint of how prices might perform.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove comments: "Given the
looming election and the talk of pending austerity packages ahead, this
consumer survey highlights a surprisingly positive property price outlook."

Why is the public so confident about prices increasing over year ahead?

The UK appears to be on the verge of coming out of recession and while
the road to economic recovery will require tough fiscal measures, the current
conditions of house price stability have provided a sufficient level of
confidence for more home-hunters to re-enter the market. The Rightmove(
www.rightmove.co.uk/) website saw record levels of traffic in the
early weeks of 2010 and this heightened level of activity coincided with the
average UK asking price going up by 1.2% in the first week of January alone.

Miles Shipside adds: "The property market is in a virtuous circle
scenario, where consumers are seeing less property up for sale and fresh to
the market property(www.rightmove.co.uk/) selling more quickly. That
rightly gives them the impression that we are over the worst of the recent
price falls, and that there is likely to be upward pressure on prices."

What has caused this turn-around in consumer confidence?

In January 2009 there was considerable uncertainty within the property
market following on from the financial market crises of late 2007 and early
2008. The average asking price of property coming to the market had fallen
GBP21,649 (-9.2%) in the space of 6 months against a backdrop of mortgage
availability being slashed and the economic recession taking hold. Although
these factors have yet to ease fully, property prices have steadied to the
extent that 2009 closed with average asking prices up by 4.1% year-on-year.

Shipside explains: "Employment seems to be holding up, and forced sales
have been below forecasts. People hear these positive stories in the news and
also directly feel the benefit of base rates being at record lows. Those that
have a mortgage, or can get a mortgage to move, are finding it is soaking up
less of their disposable income. In many ways, 2009 turned out to be much
better than expected and the confidence we report amongst the public is a
reflection of that."

Tom McGuigan, Rightmove Press Office, press@rightmove.co.uk,
+44(0)207-087-0700

Tom McGuigan, Rightmove Press Office, press at rightmove.co.uk,
+44(0)207-087-0700