Confidence about rising house prices among the general public has reached a new high for the residential property market, according to new figures.

Seven out of 10 Britons (70%) expect house prices to rise in the coming months, research by the Halifax revealed.

Just one in 16 (6%) people think house prices will fall, making it the most positive sentiment recorded since the monitor began in summer 2011.

The finding is released just before the latest phase of the Government's Help to Buy scheme gets underway, helping buyers with deposits as low as 5% to buy a new-build property or existing home.

Along with Natwest, Halifax are among those who have started offering mortgage deals under the scheme in October while other major lenders have indicated they will be doing likewise in the coming months.

The research also appears to suggest the public views it as a buyer's market at present, with less than half (41%) believing it will be a good time to sell a home in the next 12 months whereas a considerably bigger percentage (57%) think it will be a good time to buy.

This may mean there will be further upward pressure on house prices in the coming months if there is a shortage of properties coming to market but increasing numbers of people embark on a property search.

There are regional variations, though, with the balance of people believing it will be a good time to sell in the coming months rather than a bad time turning positive for the first time in the East and the South East.

The South East had the highest proportion of people thinking it will be a good time to sell with a balance of 13%, in stark contrast especially to Scotland, the North West and the East Midlands where locals were the least positive about their prospects of selling in the next 12 months.

People in Wales showed the most positive sentiment about buying in the next year with 70% believing it will be a good time to buy, but respondents in the East were the most cautious with just 40% thinking it will be a good time to buy.

Commenting on the figures, Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said the signs of improving consumer sentiment could help to lift the number of house sales from their continued low levels by pre-financial crisis standards.