House prices in Yorkshire are on the rise, according to the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

House prices in Yorkshire recorded a small upturn last month - the first in 16 months. However, buyer activity in Yorkshire has been slower to improve than in other northern regions.

Nationally, eight per cent more surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in house prices in December, this compares to four per cent in November.

In Yorkshire and Humber this figure stood at seven per cent for December, in sharp contrast to November 2005 when 17 per cent more surveyors reported a fall than a rise.

Andrew Hodgson of Dacre Son and Harley, based in Bingley, said: "Prices seem to have stabilised and December was a good month which bodes well

for 2006."

Unlike all other regions in the UK Yorkshire saw no increase in first time buyers. Despite this, the outlook in Yorkshire for both sales and prices is positive, with expectations for sales hitting the highest level since July 1999.