Rising optimism about the housing market - but momentum has yet to pick up

ASB's latest Housing Confidence Survey shows the number of people expecting house prices to increase is up to net 33 percent, compared to 24 in the previous quarter.

A net 23 percent of respondents also believe it's a good time to buy - up from 20 percent last time.

But Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says we're still not seeing sales turnover take off.

He says we've seen prices stabilise and edge up slightly, but there's been no signs of a stampede into the market.