* 59% of UK home owners expect house prices to rise over next 6 months

* Home owners predict 2.7% gain in their area but 3.3% gain for their home

According to the latest Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey, the proportion of home owners expecting prices to rise is up from 57% three months ago. However, confidence remains well below the levels of late 2009 and early 2010 when 80% of home owners expected house prices to rise.

And the phrase 'An Englishman's home is his castle' has never been truer with owners expecting their own properties to outperform those around them. When asked what would happen to the value of properties in their area, home owners predicted a 2.7% rise on average over the next six months. But when considering their own home, owners expected prices to grow 3.3% on average. This attitude was reflected in the proportion of home owners who expect prices to fall over the next six months. 26% felt prices would fall in their area while only 22% thought the value of their own home would fall.

Confidence in the housing market rose or remained the same as last quarter in all regions of the country except two, London and the East Midlands. In England 59% of owners expect house prices to rise, marginally up from 58% three months ago.

Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk, commented: "This marginal rise in confidence comes amid encouraging news from the lending market which has reported strong lending growth at the end of summer. However, lending conditions remain difficult and as a result we've not seen the same level of confidence as early last year when prices were clawing back the ground lost over the recession."