Housing market sentiment turned positive for the first-time in three years at the beginning of this month, the latest property tracker from the Building Societies Association has revealed.

However, the YouGov poll of 2,000 adults was carried out between February 28 and March 2, before the full impact of the Coronavirus outbreak had been realised by many.

The survey found that the belief now is a good time to buy a property has hit the highest level in three years.

Pessimism permeated buyer sentiment at the end of last year. A net minus 8 per cent of British adults believed it was the right time to purchase a home in December.

Last week this had swung to a positive 2 per cent reading.

Four in 10 adults in the same poll said they thought house prices will rise this year, up from 28 per cent as 2019 drew to a close.

Just 17 per cent thought property would get cheaper, down from 26 per cent in December. 

Increased optimism appears to have come from the end of uncertainty at two main sources.

Brexit (46 per cent) and the General Election result (41 per cent) were the reasons given by those with increased optimism, when asked whether ‘now is a better or worse time to buy a property than three months ago’.

The issues were also blamed for ongoing pessimism among those who believe property buying is less attractive now than in 2019, however.

Just over a quarter (28 per cent) of people who are more pessimistic now than in December said this is due to concerns over COVID-19, coronavirus.

BSA head of mortgages and housing Paul Broadhead says: “People who are concerned about the coronavirus and meeting their mortgage repayments are encouraged to speak to their lenders.”

Yesterday (10th March) RBS and Natwest said they would allow customers struggling because of the impact of coronavirus to defer mortgage and loan repayments for up to three months.

Broadhead adds: “We will be keeping a weather eye on the impact coronavirus has on the housing market. Reassuringly, these results show that, for now, it is a relatively low concern for people in terms of the housing market.”

He says the wider survey results are “encouraging”.