British future house price expectation eases in June

British House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) was 62.5 in June, retreating from the previous high of 63.2 achieved last month, and households' expectation for future price growth fell to a six month low, said the property consultancy Knight Frank and research company Market Economist Friday.
June's HPSI survey indicates that households in Britain are expecting more modest price growth than in previous months, said two the companies in a report.
In the capital city London, expectation for future property price growth moderated again from recent peaks to the lowest level since December 2013, the report said.
Around 6.2 percent of the 1,500 British households surveyed plan to buy a property in the next year, and about 29.3 percent of households reckoned that the value of their home had risen over the last month, compared to just 4.4 percent who reported a decline, said the report.
British current HPSI registered its 15th consecutive month that the reading has been above 50, the watershed of price increase and decline.
Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said in the report: "This month marks the first significant easing in house price expectations in nearly a year, and it is the biggest monthly decline since October 2011, suggesting a greater degree of caution by households."
Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, commented:"June's decisive fall in house price sentiment provides a strong signal that the UK property market is starting to cool amid greater scrutiny of mortgage lending and an increased risk that interest rates will start to rise before the end of the year."