Majority think now's the time to buy a house

The proportion of people thinking it is a good time to buy a house continues to rise, even as most people taking part in a new survey expect house prices to fall further.

The ASB housing confidence survey for the three months ended January found 53 per cent of respondents think now is a good time to buy, up from 45 per cent the previous quarter.

But 15 per cent consider now a bad time to buy, down from 21 per cent.

At the same time 60 per cent expect house prices to go lower, compared with 55 per cent previously, the survey shows.

The 9 per cent expecting higher prices in the latest survey, compared with 11 per cent, leaves a net 51 per cent of respondents expecting house prices to fall in the next year.

That is up from a net 44 per cent in the previous quarter and moving back towards July's low of a net 55 per cent.

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Posted: 2 Mar 2009

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