New instructions increase for surveyors, report finds

The latest housing market survey released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed that the number of new properties coming up for sale increased in November.

Chartered surveyors reported the sixth consecutive monthly rise in new instructions, although enquiries from potential buyers also increased in the same period.

Consequently, RICS commented that the rise in properties on the market has not prevented house prices creeping up, with 35 per cent of respondents agreeing that this is the case.

RICS spokesperson Ian Perry said: "The survey points towards prices rising, even though the general state of the economy would suggest that the housing market should not be faring as well as it is."

He added that stabilisation in the job market and the continual increase in interested purchasers could lead to renewed activity in 2010, potentially pushing house prices higher if more properties fail to enter the market.

Figures released by the Land Registry at the end of November revealed that average UK house price increased by 0.6 per cent in October, for the fifth consecutive month.