'Recovery signs' in housing poll

Estate agents are still selling very few homes on average

Surveyors have reported "tentative signs" of a recovery in the property market, despite small numbers of homes being sold.

Only 10.6 homes were sold on average per UK surveyor in the three months to the end of April, down 41% on the same period a year earlier.

But the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said members were "universally optimistic" about sales.

They also reported a big rise in interest from potential new buyers.

Meanwhile, disputes between estate agents and clients have dropped.

The Property Ombudsman said the number of disputes had fallen by 38% in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.

However, sales have also dipped significantly.

Changing views?

The Rics survey found that more surveyors expected prices to keep falling than rise in general, but that the decline could stabilise in the coming months.

KEY FACTS House prices: fell by 13.6% in a year, according to government figures New buyers: 41% more surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in enquiries, says Rics Complaints: fewer new cases about sales issues were opened by an ombudsman Surveyors' views on the market

"Transactions remain at very low levels, and we are unlikely to see significant improvements while money remains in short supply and the employment picture is uncertain," said Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

However, surveyors remained upbeat about the potential for new business. The survey showed that enquiries by potential new buyers had increased for the sixth consecutive month.

Some 41% more surveyors reported a rise, rather than a fall, in new buyer enquiries in April, up from 32%. This was the highest figure for almost a decade.

The increase came in every region in England and Wales - especially London, East Anglia and north west of England - except the north of England. A regional breakdown showing the situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland is not provided by Rics.

Newly agreed sales also rose in April, and expectations of sales in the coming months were in positive territory in every region in England and Wales.

Government figures

The government's own survey on the UK housing market shows that the decline in property prices has slowed.

ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE FALLS Scotland: 9.8% Wales: 13% Northern Ireland: 16.1% North West England: 10.3% London: 15.7% North East England: 11.7% Yorkshire and Humber: 12.5% West Midlands: 12.7% East Midlands: 13.2% East of England: 13.8% South West England: 14.4% South East England: 14.5% Source: Department of Communities

In the first three months of the year, prices fell by 3.8% compared, with a dip of 6.4% in the previous quarter, according to the Department of Communities and Local Government.

The average home in the UK cost £187,193 in March, some 13.6% lower than a year earlier.

The biggest fall in property prices over the year came in Northern Ireland (a 16.1% fall), followed by England (13.8%), Wales (13%) and Scotland (9.8%).

At a more regional level, prices rose slightly in north-west England in March compared with February, but fell everywhere else. The biggest fall in prices over the year was in London.

Complaints down

In separate figures published on Tuesday, the Ombudsman Christopher Hamer said that he had opened 102 new complaint cases with regards to sales in the first three months of the year compared with 162 during the previous quarter.

Each estate agent now has to be a member of a free ombudsman service that can deal with any customer complaints about sales and can order compensation.

However, the number of complaints regarding lettings was up slightly, following a 200% increase during the whole of 2008.

Lettings agents are not required to join a redress scheme unlike sales agents, although Mr Hamer said the number doing so voluntarily was rising.