Buyer interest in the UK’s property market is increasing across the country with London and the south of England leading the way, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) UK housing market survey.

Buyer enthusiasm which began growing in January continued to grow in February with interest in London at a high not seen for more than two years. This means that interest in the property market has now increased for four consecutive months and reflects both the drop in asking prices and continued interest rate cuts, according to RICS.

As house prices fall, those with finance are looking to pick up bargains. However, this pent up demand has not yet translated into sales. The average number of transactions per agency over the last three months is now at 9.5, a slight drop from 9.8 in November, and the lowest figure since the survey began in 1978.

The balance of surveyors reporting house price falls increased slightly in February with 78.3% more chartered surveyors indicating a fall than rise in house prices, from 76.6% in January.

Family homes remain in demand but flats are proving harder to sell in many areas as first-time buyers are struggling to gain a foothold on the property ladder. Despite depressing repossessions data, the net balance of surveyors reporting new instructions to sell remains in negative territory indicating that supply is very tight. In the current market, a lack of mortgage finance and weak economic conditions are restricting the ability of many to consider the option of entering the market.

However, surveyors remain optimistic that sales will pick up in the coming months as 11% more chartered surveyors expect sales to increase in the coming three months than in January.