The housing market continued to lack momentum in January but house prices are still expected to rise this year due to a weak supply of homes for sale, according to the latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The net positive balance of surveyors reporting new buyer enquiries was little changed on December at 5 per cent, the softest reading since August 2016.

A 1 per cent balance of chartered surveyors saw a fall in sales over the month, also unchanged from the previous month.

A net balance also saw a fall in new instructions in January.

Yet, because of the supply shortage, a positive net balance of 25 per cent of surveyors saw a rise in prices in January and prices are still seen by surveyors as continuing to rise over the next three months and next year in all regions of the UK except London.

Prices still expected to rise

RICS

According to the Office for National Statistics, average house prices in the UK increased by 6.7 per cent in the year to November 2016, up from 6.4 per cent in the year to October 2016,

Simon Rubinsohn, the RICS chief economist, said the latest survey results underlined the importance of Government to act on the promises in this week's housing White Paper to drastically increase the housing supply.

“Not only are the headline price and rent series pointing to further increases over the course of this year, but more significantly, the medium term view of RICS professionals working up and down the country is that both house prices and rents will over the medium term continue to grow at a faster pace than wages putting even greater pressure on affordability,” he said,