The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors house price balance, which measures the gap between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, fell to -47, the lowest since April 2009, from -42 in December.Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said the overall mood of the market as measured by surveyors remained subdued.
"However, it is questionable how much downside to pricing there is likely to be given that recent macro forecasts from the Bank of England and others are now envisaging a less harsh economic environment this year," Rubinsohn said.