"Figures just released by The Woolwich show a slight fall in homeowner confidence for July, down by 3% to 62%, compared to June's figure of 65% of homeowners believing that their property will continue to rise in value during the coming year,'" states Frankish.
'Nevertheless, the percentage of householders expecting their home to keep increasing in value is higher that at the same time last year. In July 2003, just 55 percent of those interviewed believed that their house value would keep on rising,' adds Frankish.
A further rate rise on Thursday (tomorrow) will dampen homeowner's expectations further, argues Frankish. "Homebuyers and sellers are becoming more realistic, and are starting to recognise that price rises are unlikely to continue at the same pace as the last couple of years," he continues.
"I reiterate the comments I made recently, in that further slight interest rate rises during the remainder of the year will help to bring house price inflation down to a sensible level of perhaps 7% or 8% year on year, as people become more cautious about their financial commitments and borrowing decisions,"
concludes Frankish.
