The Royal Insititute of Chartered Surveyors has reported that while house prices continued to slip back in September, that pace of decline is the slowest in 14 months.

Here we look at what RICS had to report on the house market in your region.

North
Yorkshire and Humberside
North West
East Midlands
West Midlands
East Anglia
South East
South West
Wales
London
Scotland

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North
House prices continued to slip back into September though at the slowest pace recorded in over a year. New buyer enquiries for property, and the number of
agreed sales both rose firmly, sustaining the upward trend evident since mid summer.Looking ahead to the next three months, surveyors expect sales activity to improve further, while for a second month they envisage a modest rise in prices.

Yorkshire and Humberside
House prices slipped back moderately in September with the pace of decline slower than over the spring and early summer months. Buyer enquiries have steadied following five months of rises, while the number of agreed sales were also static.

Surveyors are not expecting any significant change in the level of sales activity over the next three months. However, there has been a notable shift in the price climate. Surveyors are no longer expecting price falls, as opposed to negative expectations for much of the past year.

North West
Prices slipped back again, having been fairly stable over the prior two months.
However, the number of new buyer enquiries picked up in September, after being static in August, while agreed sales dropped.

Confidence in the sales outlook is at an extremely high level. Expectations for prices are the most upbeat in over a year, though increases are viewed being modest.

East Midlands
House prices fell back in the East Midlands in September, and have been falling for over a year. However, the pace of decline is the slowest in 12 months.

Enquiries from would-be buyers have picked up slightly for two months running, but newly agreed sales have been static over the same period. After a surge in the previous month, overall confidence in the sales outlook was flat in September.
Confidence in the price outlook remains negative, but is the least pessimistic since May 2004.

West Midlands
House prices have been in decline in the West Midlands for over a year, though the pace of fall has been easing since late spring. The number of would-be buyers and newly agreed sales have both risen over the past two months, having been static over the first six months of 2005.

Overall surveyor confidence has picked up slightly in relation to the sales outlook. The price outlook is still viewed as negative, though is the least pessimistic in a
year.

East Anglia
House prices fell back a touch in September but the drop was the smallest recorded in over a year, indicating that the market slowdown has run its course. Buyer enquiries have risen in three of the past four months.

Also, agreed sales are on a firm upward trend. Confidence in the sales outlook remains very upbeat, as has been the case for much of the year. For prices, surveyors expect little or no change in the coming three months, which is a reversal from the negative sentiment expressed at the turn of the year.

South East
House prices slipped back again in September, with the pace of decline up slightly from August. However, the market is not as weak as earlier in the year. Buyer enquiries have risen further, but the number of newly agreed sales showed little significant change. New instructions from vendors showed a drop, the first in around 1 ½ years.
Confidence in the sales outlook showed a marked upturn, hitting the highest ever recorded for the survey. Confidence in the price outlook is muted but is nevertheless marginally positive.

South West
The pace of price falls eased once again in the South West, and are now half the pace recorded in the first few months of the year. Buyer enquiries showed a firm rise in September, building on the gains recorded over the previous three months. Newly agreed sales slipped back after rising between May-August.

Instructions fell for a second month. Confidence in the sales outlook is still riding high. Where sentiment has changed is in relation to prices. Surveyors now envisage moderate price rises in the months ahead as opposed to falls previously expected.

Wales
House prices continued to fall back moderately, with no significant change in trend recorded in recent months. However, the number of new buyer enquiries rose further, up at the firmest pace in 1½ years, while newly agreed sales were also up moderately.

Confidence in the sales outlook remains upbeat, with an upturn in sales still envisaged. In respect of prices, confidence is stable with no change expected in the
months ahead.

London
House prices in London showed little change in September ending the run of moderate declines recorded over the spring and summer months. Buyer enquiries continued to rise following the August interest rate cut, though the rise in September was not as firm as that in the previous month. Newly agreed sales fell back having risen in August. New instructions continued to drop, down at the firmest pace in two years.

Surveyor confidence in the sales outlook has risen further, remaining at very high levels. The outlook for prices is now clearly viewed as positive though only a modest upturn is envisaged.

Scotland
House prices in Scotland have shown signs of a moderate upturn, supported by the August interest rate cut. New buyer enquiries have been on a firm rising trend for five months.

Newly agreed sales rose in September, partly reversing declines of the prior two months. Surveyors have maintained a positive outlook on market prospects, with both sales and prices expected to see increases over the coming three months.

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