House prices fall outside capital

House prices fell in all regions outside London during February, according to the latest data from the RICS.

Overall 26% more surveyors reported price falls than rises, showing prices still declining, albeit at the slowest rate for four months. 31% more surveyors saw prices fall than rise in January.

However prices in London rose in February, with 14% more surveyors reporting a rise than a fall. Performing worst was Wales, with 58% more surveyors reporting a fall in prices than a rise.

However inquiries nationally by new buyers virtually stopped falling, with a balance of -1 of surveyors reporting more new buyers. The presence of new purchasers is likely to act as a brake on house price falls.

RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf said in a statement: “Broad trends in the survey indicate an increasing variation in the housing market across the UK, with London - and to a lesser extent the South East - operating in a very different orbit.”

He added: “Despite the more positive picture for some parts of the U.K., the general mood is still a little flat. Rather ominously, we have probably yet to feel the full impact of the public-spending cuts.”