THE last vestiges of doubt over the recovery in the British housing market appeared to have been banished yesterday after a top housing analyst raised his forecast for the annual rise in the price of homes.

Mr Rob Thomas, of Swiss bank UBS, said he has raised his forecast to 7 per cent from 5 per cent for this year and to 10 per cent from 6 per cent for 1997 to reflect the "increasingly vigorous" nature of the housing market recovery.