House prices are still rising

The UK's property market is benefiting from its normal spring pick up, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

In April, 17% more surveyors said prices were rising rather than falling, up from 9% in March.

Sales have picked up very slightly as well, Rics reported, with the average number of homes sold per surveyor rising to 17.4 over the three months to the end of April.

A rise in the number of homes being put up for sale again outstripped the increase in enquiries from potential new buyers, which might suggest downward pressure on prices in the coming months.

But overall, Rics said its members had become much more optimistic about both sales and prices.

"The start of spring has seen renewed optimism with the good weather improving sentiment and surveyors expecting an increase in both sales and house prices," said Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

"The housing market often sees an increase in new instructions in the early part of the year with sales boosted in the spring and this year has been no exception," he added.

Posted at 09:00PM May 11, 2010 by Kelly Board in Mortgages & Housing Market  |  Comments[0]