2014.04.1801:56:00UTC+00U.K. April House Price Sentiment At Record High

U.K. households' sentiment on current and future house prices reached a record high in April, survey data from Knight Frank and Markit Economics showed Friday.

The house price sentiment index rose to 62.7 from 61.5 in March. Any reading above 50 indicates prices are rising. This was the thirteenth consecutive month that households reported a rise in property value.

The new high means that households are more confident that the price of their property is rising than at any time since the index began in early 2009.

The future HPSI which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, also reached a new high of 75 in April, up from the previous record 74.9 in February. Expectations rose to a record high in five of the 11 regions, led by London.

Those who own their home outright are the most confident that prices will rise over the next year.

"Sentiment surveys were quick to pick up on the decisive shift in property price momentum during 2013, and can be expected to provide a valuable bellwether for twists and turns in the market over the course of 2014," said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.