The proportion reporting rises in house prices rather than falls rose to its highest level in September since the onset of the credit crunch.

But the picture is different in certain parts of the country, a poll for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found.

Prices have been most buoyant in the south of England, the survey showed.

First-time buyers

The proportion of surveyors reporting price rises rather than falls was at its highest since May 2007, with London and the south-east of England showing the biggest proportion.

However, more surveyors reported price falls than rises in Wales, as well as Yorkshire and the Humber.

New buyer enquiries rose in September compared with August, but the level of new instructions from sellers slipped back in the same period.

"A lack of supply is still underpinning the rise in house prices with new instructions to estate agents only edging up very gradually," said Rics spokesman Ian Perry.

"Meanwhile, despite the problems first-time buyers are continuing to encounter in securing finance, the level of enquiries from potential purchasers is increasing.

"This imbalance between demand and supply suggests that house prices will move higher in the near term," he added.

Rising prices

The report from Rics supports the widespread opinion in the property industry that house prices have been going up since the spring because relatively few people have been putting their homes on the market.

According to the Halifax, UK house prices have risen by nearly 6% since April, adding to £9,000 to the average price.

Meanwhile, the Nationwide says prices have now risen for five months in a row, and are back to where they were a year ago.

Despite the relative lack of sellers, there has still been a modest improvement in sales, which went up to 18 per surveyor over the past three months.

"Supply of good quality property remains limited, which has resulted in prices holding up," said Paul McSkimmings of Edward Watson Associates in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

"The volume of transactions continues to be hindered by limited availability of mortgages," he added.

Martin Allen of Elgars in Canterbury said: "The number of enquiries has increased rapidly but potential buyers are faced with a decreasing amount of available properties to choose from."

"Anything of any quality is now likely to result in competitive bidding," he added.

Source: BBC