The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) seasonally adjusted house price balance dropped to -4 in January, partly as a result of inclement weather, although home sales in the United Kingdom actually rose.

The consensus estimate had been for a reading of -2.

The previous month´s level was revised down to -1 from a preliminary reading of 0.

Sector professionals predicted little variation in home prices when looking out over the next three months. However, the gauge which measures their forecasts for the next 12 months jumped to +18 from +5.

London home prices climbed at their quickest pace since May 2010. Interestingly, in Wales they grew for the first time since the beginning of that same year.

"While it is still very early days to talk about a comprehensive market recovery, activity levels are still encouraging and there is some optimism out there that things could continue to improve," said Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director.

AB

Related share prices