Confidence in the market is rising

Rics said the slight increase reflected the emergence of potential buyers in greater numbers - a function of climbing confidence since the end of the war in Iraq.

The group said 16% more surveyors in England and Wales reported seeing a rise in the number of people looking to buy a property during the three months to the end of August, up from 11% in July and 5% in June.

Overall 8% more surveyors reported seeing price rises than those who saw price falls.

Confidence building

Rics housing spokesman Jeremy Leaf said: "The summer months are traditionally quiet, so we expect to see an increase in activity as we come into the autumn following the start of the new school year."

"The national picture is one of quite modest house price rises for the first time this year, although the south is still trailing behind the north."

In recent months, the north has generally seen far higher house-price growth than the south, where high prices make the market tricky for first-time buyers to crack.

Rics said all northern regions saw price rises during August, most notably in the northwest.

But it also said that the rate of falls was easing in most southern regions, with homes in the southwest showing the first price increases since January.

Overall, confidence remains very strong, with 46% more surveyors expecting property prices to rise during the next three months than those who think they will fall.