New blood has entered the housing market with new buyer enquires rising for the third consecutive month said the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors today.

According to the surveyors, this is due to a boost in buyer interest fuelled by August's interest rate cut. Completed property sales are also up, for the second month running, and have risen by 7.5 per cent from a low in February.

House prices continued to fall in August, though at the slowest rate in a year. The number of chartered surveyors reporting price falls for August fell to 26 percent, down from 36 percent in July.

The number of new properties brought onto the market rose at the slowest pace in over a year, as the pressure to sell diminished. There are signs the market is stabilising and receding fears of a house price crash.

The slowdown in new instructions has led to a drop in the number of homes available for sale, though surveyors continue to report large stocks of property on their books. London continues to maintain a positive outlook, with price rises also expected in the North and North West. Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside have a more optimistic outlook, though the South East and West Midlands have all seen a fall in surveyors' confidence from last month.

According to RICS housing market spokesman, Jeremy Leaf: "Sales are up by 7.5 per cent since February, indicating a return of confidence to the market. The pace of decline in house price falls is at its lowest in a year, also pointing to more stable conditions."

"The big question is whether the market is just stabilising or if this is the beginning of a sustained revival."