The public's confidence in the UK property market is fading, according to new research.

The public's confidence in the UK property market is fading, according to new research.

A third of British people think that house prices will increase at a faster rate than shares, while 53 per cent of the respondents in the Association of Investment Trust Companies (AITC) in January 2003 had responded optimistically.

When just those who were looking to invest in property were questioned, the response was more pessimistic, with just one in 11 believing that house prices would rise faster than shares.

"Although still nearly a third of the general public believes property will outperform the stock market over the next year, this figure has been consistently falling," said Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the AITC.

"We believe the repeated warnings about a property slowdown are beginning to have an impact, but it's a concern that many people are still banking on property prices rising."

The survey also found that just over 30 per cent of those planning to increase their stock holding felt that investing in property is safer than investing in any other thing, the research found.