House prices are remaining steady in Scotland

House prices are dropping in the UK capital but are steady in Scotland, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found.

More than half of London surveyors have seen prices go down since November, compared with just a fifth in Scotland.

The amount of building work in Scotland also grew, in contrast with a steady dip in London over the last year.

Scots surveyors also reported a much higher demand for commercial property including offices and retail space, resulting in rent increases north of the border.

More people unable to buy puts pressure on rented accommodation James Jopling Shelter Scotland

RICS Scotland director Graeme Hartley said: "Scotland has been bucking the UK trend of falling house prices in much of 2007 and now it is outperforming London in the amount of new construction projects and demand for commercial property too.

"There is great uncertainty surrounding the global economy but the figures from the RICS surveys offer Scotland some positive news.

"Investors have confidence in Scotland, businesses want to set up shop here and employment has climbed by 2.2% over the previous 12 months.

"These latest figures suggest the Scottish property sector is surviving the credit crunch."

However, James Jopling, head of campaigns at Shelter Scotland, said: "Outperforming implies that rising house prices in Scotland are a good thing.

"Tell that to the thousands of would-be first-time buyers who cannot get onto the property ladder."

He said that last month there were reports that the numbers of first-time buyers were at a 20-year low.