Confidence in the housing market is strong and demand has returned to the levels we witnessed two years ago. Areas which saw sluggish activity over the past couple of years such as London and the South East are now seeing a clear strengthening in house prices. |
There was a notable pick-up in the buy-to-let sector in the second half of last year, so that lending in 2005 modestly exceeded the year before. The strong buy-to-let data may partly reflect increased demand for rental property. Despite slowing house prices last year, residential property remains a popular investment, and this is set to continue in 2006. |