Average price: �70,000 Surveyors report more rises Rate of increase slowing Source: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' housing market survey

The average price of a home in Wales is now �70,000, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' housing market survey has recorded.

Forty six per percent of surveyors questioned reported price rises, up from 17% last month.

But the rate at which prices have risen has dropped since the autumn, the survey found.

The report also found that, even though more property was being put on the market, the number of enquiries from new buyers has fallen for a second consecutive month.

RCIS director Cathy McLean said that this decline could be because buyers were being priced out of the market.

"The average price of a house for first time buyers in Wales is now over �70,000, which can make it difficult for these buyers to get a foot on the property ladder," she said.

"Over the coming three months, surveyors in Wales expect both prices and sales to rise, but at a slower rate than is normally expected for the time of year," she added.

Falling

The report indicated that the house market was cooling off after its recent boom.

"Across the UK as a whole, there are definite signs that the market is experiencing a slowdown," said Ms Maclean.

"The south west, south east, London and East Anglia have all experienced a fall in prices.

"However, unemployment and lending rates are low and, with the end of the war in Iraq in sight, the market could well bounce back by the end of the year," she added.

The �70,000 average price figure contrasts with the Principality Building Society's �87,238 figure reported in April.

In the latest Principality survey, house prices in Cardiff experienced the largest growth, taking the average house price in the capital to �119,000.