RICS survey suggest house prices are heading for a fall

44% of 265 Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors working as Estate Agents surveyed said they had seen house prices fall during the past 3 months.  Out of the 265 members surveyed 6% had seen a rise whilst 50% reported prices had been stable.The Council of Mortgage Lenders figures reported 51,600 mortgages were approved last month, a figure that had fallen by 8% in August despite the fall it was still 3% up on the same period in 2009.Figures from RICS only highlight the overall picture illustrated by other surveys indicating prices have drifted downward in recent months, despite the gloomy outlook, new data from the government released on Tuesday 5th October saw prices had risen by 0.7% in August from July.Other respondents to RICS survey suggest the down turn pointing to forthcoming Government cuts in public spending undermining consuming confidence and potential buyers.Government figures also published Tuesday illustrated a rise of 0.7% in UK house prices in August compared with July, the average value of a home stood at £213.116 in August compared with July according to the Department of Communities and Local Government.