The trade body’s February UK Housing Market survey revealed that supply of properties outstripped demand in February as new instructions outpaced buyer enquiries for the second consecutive month.

This was the first sustained shift towards the supply side for two years.

A net balance of 20% more surveyors reported a rise in new instructions and a net balance of 7% more chartered surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in new buyer enquiries compared with January.

Surveyors expect sales to increase indicating that the recent drop in transactions was a reflection of recent adverse weather conditions.

But, elsewhere in the research, the number of chartered surveyors who reported a fall rather than a rise in house prices dropped by 14%.

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Although surveyors in Southern regions are still reporting house price gains, surveyors in the North, Yorkshire and Humberside, Wales and the West Midlands are reporting house price falls, which drove down the overall level of declines.

Jeremy Leaf, spokesperson at RICS, said: “Most market indicators are still positive and consistent with further house price increases. However the magnitude of the gains going forward is likely to continue to ease reflecting the fact that new supply coming onto the market is starting to outstrip fresh demand.”