Speaking at the Financial Services Expo in London the economist said the UK remains a “very divergent market, but recovery is not just a London story”.
London and some areas of the South East have seen double digit house price growth during 2014 but Silvestrin warned that such growth was unlikely to continue into 2015.
Silvestrin also said that a recent downturn in the approvals means the market remains difficult to predict but he seemed confident of an upturn.
He said: “Approvals are currently 20% below the cycles peak. The impact of the Mortgage Market Review and the uncertainty around the Scottish Referendum will have had an impact on that.
“But it is encouraging that we are now seeing a return to an upward trend fuelled by first-time buyers.”
Recent mortgage approval figures have revealed that first-time buyers currently account for some 45% of the market.
Silvestrin said: “The return of first-time buyers shows that there is more confidence in the market and that lenders are willing to lend.
“Despite the dip there are still reasons to believe we are moving in the right direction.”
