House price falls have failed to dissuade the public of the investment value of property.

Many people believe bricks and mortar will out-perform the stock market over the next 12 months, according to figures published today.

But regular investors favour equities, with 53% expecting the stock market to out-perform property, compared to 15% of the general public, according to the latest investor confidence research from the Association of Investment Trust Companies (AITC).

Of those active investors, one in five (22%) was concerned about future growth in the price of houses, fearing interest rate rises have already dampened the market.

A further 20% said property was just too expensive.

But most of the general public were keeping their faith in property, with 40% expecting the housing market to out-perform equities - only 9% of active investors took the same view.

AITC communications director Annabel Brodie-Smith said: "Interest rate rises and an apparent slow-down in the housing market have clearly not been enough to switch the general public off property and on to equities."

The AITC research also showed that investing in the UK was the flavour of the moment, with almost three in four active private investors (74%) opting to hold the majority of their investment portfolio in UK companies.

The smaller companies sector was the most highly regarded, with 31% of investors saying this sector looked the most attractive, probably due to recent strong performance.

Fund manager James Henderson Trust said: "The UK market offers good value. Dividend growth is coming through strongly and the general public may come to enjoy equity investment in coming years."