HOUSE prices in Yorkshire and Humber rose in February with 28 per cent more surveyors in the region reporting an increase rather than decline in prices, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors UK Residential Market survey.

During the month of January, only 12 per cent of surveyors in Yorkshire and Humber reported a rise in house prices, so February saw this figure more than double.

London was the only place in the UK where more surveyors reported price declines than increases last month.

The rise in prices is in part being driven by fewer houses coming on to the market in most parts of the UK, including Yorkshire and Humber, where 13 per cent more surveyors saw decreases in supply to the market.

The average sales per surveyor in Yorkshire and Humber increased last month to 25, up from 24 in January.

The national picture of demand appears to be stabilising after seven consecutive months in which the number of new buyers was down. he Yorkshire and Humber lettings market, demand continues to rise, with 57 per cent more surveyors in the region reporting a rise in inquiries from potential tenants, and this is reflected in in the medium term view for rents with respondents, on average, envisaging an increase of 2.6 per cent over the coming year.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “It is encouraging that the negative trend in buyer inquiries appears to be dissipating, perhaps in part because of growing confidence that the cost of borrowing will stay lower for longer, but more worrying is that instructions to sell property continue to drop.

“This very modest reversal in the demand picture is already being felt in the key measures of price expectations, highlighting the extent of the challenge policy makers will face in addressing the housing crisis in the aftermath of the coming general election.”