PROPERTY prices across East Anglia are expected to grow by more than 16% in the next four years but experts have declared that the market is cooling off.

PROPERTY prices across East Anglia are expected to grow by more than 16% in the next four years but experts have declared that the market is cooling off.

Suffolk could see the cost of houses creep up by 16.1% by the end of 2008 and in Essex the increase predicted is 16.3%.

The figures, which were released by the independent consumer magazine Your Mortgage, show that the region's property hotspots for the future are St Edmundsbury, where prices are expected to jump up by 18.4%, and Uttlesford, where prices could be boosted by 18.7%.

Forest Heath is forecasted to see property prices increase by 16.5% over the next four years, while the cost of a home is expected to climb by 12.1% in Waveney.

But Andrew Stuart, editor-in-chief of the magazine, said the latest house price projections for the region "reflect a projected cooling down in the market over the next few years."

He added: "The South of England - especially the South East - has seen massive house price inflation for the last few years. Our latest predictions show that property prices in some areas are continuing to level out before picking up again in three or four years time.

"We would urge home owners not to panic because we don't expect to see a similar collapse in the housing market as we have seen on the stock market over the last few years.

"However, we would advise people considering stepping on or moving up the housing ladder and recent borrowers to take a long term view."

The figures come from research into population trends, projected income levels, employment forecasts, interest rate projections and expected levels of housing stock.

For more information visit: www.yourmortgage.co.uk.