London homeowners among least optimistic about property market... as rest of Britain grows in confidence

London homeowners are among the least optimistic in the country about their properties increasing in price, a new survey suggests.

While British homeowners have been feeling more confident in the UK's property market than ever over the past six months, the capital is the second most pessimistic region.

Just over three-quarters (76 per cent) of London homeowners are expecting prices to rise in their area.

Around 84 per cent of homeowners expect property values in their area to increase over the coming six months, which is up from 70 per cent when similar research was carried out in November, according to website Zoopla.

Across Britain, only one in 12 people (8 per cent) in the latest survey of more than 1,950 homeowners expect prices to fall in their area over the coming six months.

On average, those expecting price rises predict a 6.9 per cent uplift over the next six months - also an increase compared with the November study.

The most optimistic homeowners about their local property market live in the East Midlands and the East of England, with 93 per cent and 90 per cent respectively predicting house price rises over the next six months.

Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: "It's encouraging to see a bounce-back in consumer confidence in the market - it's the largest increase we've seen since 2016.

"This shows that home-owners are starting to regain their confidence in the property market, with those in the east of the UK having the most optimism."

The south-west of England is the next most hopeful region, with 89 per cent of home-owners expecting an increase in their area's property values.

The north-east of England is the least confident region with just under two-thirds expecting rises, despite this being a big increase for the region compared with November 2017, followed by London.

The findings were released after another property website Rightmove reported this week that the average price tag on a home reached a record high of £308,075 on average in May.

Rightmove warned, however, that the current market is becoming "increasingly price-sensitive", and said sellers need to pitch their price at a tempting level to entice buyers.

It also said that, across Britain, different property markets are still operating at different speeds.

Zoopla also found that, when it comes to how much home-owners think prices will increase by, those in the West Midlands are the most confident - predicting values in their area will rise by 10.6 per cent over the next six months on average.