By Enzo Mora, The Mortgage Brain 

That's the million-dollar question - says Enzo Mora, CEO and founder of Gloucester-based The Mortgage Brain.

Depending on the location and property type, you will probably find your home rises in value the longer you live in it. And if you're paying off a mortgage too, you could be building up equity along the way.

However, predicting the future is difficult and it's that time of year when all the big estate agents reveal what their property price forecasts are for next year.

Hamptons estate agents have recently pointed out the desire for more space and the flexibility for workers to split their time between the home and office will continue to stimulate the market in 2022. Equity-rich homeowners, they say, have dominated property market activity since the start of the pandemic, and they expect a second wave of lockdown-induced demand from those who have been unable to move this year.

Hamptons forecast that the average house price at the end of the year will be 4.5 per cent higher than at the end of 2020 and by 2024, the average price could be 13.5 per cent higher than today.

Most of the monthly indices that the big lenders publish have been showing prices rising. Fears that the sales market would 'fall off a cliff' once the stamp duty holiday ended were proved wrong, after the Halifax revealed a 1.7 per cent monthly rise in house prices last month.

One of country's leading property portals Zoopla recently worked out that the value of the average home has increased by £44 per day in the last six months alone, up from £30 per day between July 2020 and January 2021.

Zoopla says that the average UK house price is up £17,508 since the start of the pandemic, and now has hit a typical £235,000. Rightmove recently recorded that, for the first time since March 2007, all regions of Great Britain hit new record price highs in October for every buyer type from first-time buyer and second stepper to the top of the ladder.

When you buy a property you are not necessarily looking for future price growth but many homeowners see that in the long run it proves to be a good investment.

We help our customers get the best mortgage deals from the outset and regularly review the loan and lender so over the years we can look at considerable savings on mortgage repayments while the property appreciates in value, even when they move.

Homes are where we live but if they make us some money too that's the icing on the cake.

To find out more about The Mortgage Brain, visit www.themortgagebrain.net or call 0333 340 8888.