BRITONS are looking forward to the New Year optimistically, with nearly two-thirds confident that next year will be a better year than last for their family, according to research released yesterday.

The Nationwide Building Society's Consumer Confidence Index found that 60 per cent were confident things would improve, 30 per cent expected next year to be the same and only five per cent believe it would be a worse year.

Regionally, the most optimistic consumers were those in the North-East, with 74 per cent predicting 2005 would bring them a better year.

While housing market activity slowed, consumers were less pessimistic about the state of the housing market than they were three months ago, the survey revealed.

The proportion that viewed market conditions as very bad fell from 19 per cent to 12 per cent.

And when considering expected property price changes during the next six months, people were optimistic. A third expected an increase in property values while fewer than a quarter expected a decrease.