The April report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found that 40% more surveyors experienced a fall than a rise in house prices. This is up from the 39% the previous month and not far from the 12 year high of 44% recorded last November. It is believed that the general election and fears of interest rate rises contributed to the downturn in prices. But there were signs that the fall may be short lived following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates in May and hints that they may have peaked. Milan Khatri, head of economics at RICS, said: “We think there will be a mild activity increase in the second half of the year, but we’re not going to see any signs of a boom in the market.” RICS also said that new instructions rose at their fastest pace since early 2004 as the volume of property brought onto the market continued to rise. (Times, Guardian)