The housing market, as well as increased consumer spending, have ensured that the UK is on course for a recovery, says a forecasting body. If the housing market continues to contribute to the degree that it has, we can expect to see numerous loft conversions in the Wirral and other areas up and down the UK.
The Ernst and Young Item Club described the recovery as finally having “legs” with a close to 100% increase on its growth forecast for 2013 to 1.1%. The figure stood at 0.6% just three months earlier.
It said that the housing market will continue to be spurred on by government initiatives, but also pointed out that consumers will finance increased expenditure by using their savings as opposed to a big household income increase.
The Item Club’s head economic adviser, Prof Peter Spencer, said:
“It’s looking much more positive and we’re unlikely to see a repeat of 2011 when a recovery in confidence was crushed by the euro crisis.”
“Spending on the high street is holding up nicely, housing market transactions are beginning to gather pace and, perhaps most significantly, the global economy also appears to be on the mend.”
The Government’s Funding for Lending and Help to Buy programmes have been given credit from some quarters for driving a recovery in the housing market. Approvals for mortgages have been at their highest for over three years and property prices increased faster than at any time over the same duration.
