Poll shows UK homeowner confidence stalls for first time in 18 months - YouGov

LONDON (Reuters) - One measure of consumer confidence in Britain stalled for the first time since December 2012 this month as fewer people expect house prices to rise, a survey by polling company YouGov showed on Thursday. The index in July was unchanged from June, ending 18 months of continuous improvement, according to figures compiled for economics consultancy CEBR, and is well above its level of a year ago, although still below its 2007 peak. "The surge in consumer confidence over the past 18 months has largely been built on homeowners' faith in property prices increasing," said YouGov researcher Stephen Harmston. "Now we are seeing a distinct cooling off in these expectations and, as a result, overall consumer confidence has stalled," he said. For the second month in a row the number of homeowners who expect the value of their houses to increase over the next year fell, the survey showed - the first two-month decline in about two years. Households' assessment of their own finances continued to improve, however. "With some heat coming out of the housing market, business investment picking up and household finances slowly improving, the economy could be readying itself for slower, but more sustainable, growth," said CEBR managing economist Scott Corfe. The Bank of England said on Wednesday that there were tentative signs that the economy was starting to slow slightly in line with its forecasts for the second half of 2014. (Reporting by Tess Little; Editing by Louise Ireland)