The research, conducted in December and January among 523 mortgage brokers, revealed that 55% thought that property would yield greater profits, whilst 45% went for shares.
According to figures released by Nationwide at the end of last month, the FTSE 100 grew by 16% in 2005, compared to housing market growth of 3%. However, the FTSE still remains 10% below its 1999 level, whereas house prices are more than twice as high as they were at the end of 1999.
“We are expecting a drop in interest rates some time in early 2006, with house price rises remaining in the 0% to 3% range over the year,” said UCB Home Loans managing director Keith Astill. “The longer-term picture on prices is less clear, but the research shows that brokers are obviously expecting property to outperform equities over the next five years.
“Last year was the first year this century that growth in the equity market has outperformed the housing market,” he said, “and it was also the first time in five years that annual house price inflation has been in single digits at the end of the year.”
