House prices: Most believe 2014 is a good year to sell Researchers found that people living in the North East were the most optimistic about 2014 being a good time to buy. A net balance of 50pc of people living in the North East believe it will be a good time to buy rather than a bad time. Meanwhile, those living in London were the least optimistic, with a balance of 18pc of people thinking this year is a good time to buy rather than a bad time. Land Registry figures released this week showed that house prices in London have surged by more than 10pc year-on-year, while in the North East they have edged down by 1.6pc annually. At £396,646 on average, a property in London now costs more than four times one in the North East, according to the Land Registry's figures for the month of November. Meanwhile, the Nationwide's index today showed prices had risen by 8.4pc in 2013, adding £1,131 a month to the value of the average property. Nearly three-quarters (72pc) of British adults surveyed by Halifax predict the average UK house price will rise over the next year, up from 70pc in September. Only 6pc expect prices to fall, which is unchanged from September. One third (34pc) of people expect house prices to rise by up to 5% over the next 12 months with a quarter (27pc) expecting an increase of between 5pc and 10pc. The number of people expecting prices to rise outweighed those expecting a fall in every region across Britain. The strongest sentiment that house prices are set to increase was found in the South East, where a net balance of 80pc of people expect to see house prices rise rather than fall, followed closely by London where the balance was 79pc. The weakest sentiment that prices are set to rise rather than fall was found in the West Midlands, which had a balance of 43pc of people expecting increases rather than decreases. A lack of homes for sale is seen as one of the main factors pushing up house prices in recent months as demand from would-be buyers has surged due to the launch of Government schemes such as Help to Buy to give people a helping hand onto or up the property ladder. The ability to raise a big enough deposit and concerns about job security continue to be considered by people as the main barriers to being able to buy a property, Halifax found. Concerns about rises in interest rates also increased slightly from September. Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: "The recovery in the housing market during 2013 has resulted in a significant improvement in sentiment towards selling a property in recent months. This shift could provide a much-needed increase in the supply of properties available for sale on the market during 2014, which would help to constrain upwards pressure on house prices. Here is the net balance of the percentage of people who expect the average UK house price to rise over the next 12 months compared to those that expect house prices to fall in each region. For example, across Britain, the 72pc of adults expecting an increase in house prices minus the 6pc expecting a fall results in an overall balance of 66: East Midlands, 56 East, 68 London, 79 North East, 52 North West, 67 Scotland, 58 South East, 80 South West, 71 Wales, 64 West Midlands, 43 Yorkshire and the Humber, 57 Britain, 66