A new survey of chartered surveyors has revealed the housing market in Scotland is "broadly stable", even showing early signs of recovery.

Of those surveyed, 10% said they expected house prices to rise rather than fall in the coming months.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said "both activity and prices could begin to pick-up later in the year".

They added that the survey suggested the Scottish market was "turning a corner".

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House prices did continue to fall in March, but expectations on long-term prices were positive for the first time since May 2011.

Sarah Spiers, Rics Scotland Director, said: "Sales expectations are positive and have been so in every month since the middle of last year with the sole exception of January when poor weather had a significant impact on the market.

"There is a clear belief that we are reaching a point of improvement and optimism. Activity is still well down on its pre-crisis norm, however, it is encouraging to see a longer term increase predicted for prices across Scotland."

Last month, a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors report revealed their was "cautious optimism" about the state of the housing market.

(JP/CD)