Rise in houses on market

The number of sellers putting their house on the market rose for the third successive month during December, but vendors may need to cut their prices to do a deal, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Its latest monthly survey, published today, suggests sellers returned in time for the new year, with London leading the way.

A 38 per cent balance of surveyors reported rising numbers of new homes on the market, the highest since January 2005. But the number of sales fell slightly to 15.2 per surveyor per week last month. Ian Perry, a Rics spokesman, said: "With sales expectations remaining flat, it is important that vendors are realistic."