Research by Your Move has revealed that 75% of homeowners believe that house prices will rise by around +3% in the next 12 months.

Overall they believe that house prices will rise by +5.4% in the next two years, and +11% in the next five years, with the predicted +2.8% rise in the next 12 months equating to a £4,600 increase in value for the average property, based upon current Land Registry figures.

David Newnes, managing director of LSL, said: “People haven’t woken up to the extent of the recent house price increases - they’re ahead nearly £5,500! Property values have continued to climb back to their previous heights, and as the stamp-duty threshold has been raised for first-timers, confidence has surged back to the housing market. We’ve seen a boost in the number of sellers across our network - not to mention a steady growth in buyer interest since the turn of the year. The election seems to have had little impact on buyer and seller activity over recent weeks.”

The average homeowner has owned their property for eight years and thinks it has increased in value by +64% in this period which would be an increase, according to the Land Registry, of £62,064. Around 87% of homeowners believe their property has increased in value since they purchased it. In fact during the period of December 2001 to March 2010 house prices have increased by +70%, so homeowners are actually £5,249 better off than the average.

The vast majority of non-owner occupiers stated that buying a house remains their goal, with 91% looking to buy in the near future and two-thirds believe a house will give them greater long term stability to build a life or have children, while 55% think it’s a great investment.

Newnes said: “Buying a house is not just a financial investment, but an opportunity to create stability for a family, lay down roots in a community, or personalise a home in ways that renting doesn’t allow.”