RIGA, April 23 (LETA) - Property price hike in Latvia is forecast by 42.6 percent of residents, which is by 1.5 percentage points less than in September 2020,  according to SEB Banka's latest housing price indicator.

At the same time, the share of residents predicting a drop in housing prices has increased by 2.3 percentage points to 14.5 percent, while 25.4 percent of residents expect that housing prices will not change in the nearest time, down 3 percentage points. At the same time, some 17 percent of respondents did not have any particular opinion about housing price changes.

SEB housing price indicator or the difference between those predicting a drop and those expecting a rise in housing prices has dropped by 3.8 points to 28.1 points, suggesting that people's sentiment has deteriorated.

The bank said that even though residents' optimism has declined, the highest share of residents expecting a price hike is in Vidzeme region - 52.2 percent. Residents of Kurzeme have also become more optimistic - 49.5 percent compared to 41 percent in fall. The share of people predicting a price hike in Latgale rose from 30.3 percent last fall to 43.6 percent this spring.

At the same time, a drop in the share of people predicting a price hike in housing prices was recorded in Riga and Pieriga.

The survey was conducted in March 2021 in cooperation with SKDS pollster, polling 1,012 Latvian residents, aged 18-75.