Price recovery only slight

The level of house prices is still falling, new figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) have revealed.

Rics statistics for the month of May have shown that the balance of surveyors reporting a fall in prices over a rise was 92.9 per cent, a figure which is second only to the highest ever total of 94.7 per cent recorded in April.

It also showed that the number of transactions was down, with the average number of transactions per agent now at its lowest level since Rics began surveying in 1978 at 17.4 over the last three months.

The situation reflects an uncertain market in which many people are holding off from making transactions.

Some may decide that self build is a more certain and stable prospect than buying in the current market.

The lower number of transactions is in line with the expectation that Scottish property agent Simon Rettie of Rettie and Co voiced yesterday.

He said in an uncertain situation people would tend to "sit tight" and see how the market developed before making decisions.