The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said the Scottish housing market continued to show "encouraging" growth last month.

Surveyors added that both buyer inquiries and newly-agreed sales increased for the third consecutive month. More than a quarter of those asked, were also positive about house prices for the months ahead. Only one in 20 believed prices would fall.

The RICS survey said: "For the first time since mid-2011, the new buyer inquiries and newly agreed sales series remained positive for the third consecutive month.

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"A net balance of 3% more chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer inquiries, teamed with a net balance of 6% more surveyors reporting an increase in newly agreed sales.

"Near-term price expectations are broadly flat, with a net balance of only 5% more chartered surveyors reporting a likely fall in prices over the next three months. More significantly, the longer-term outlook suggests a more upbeat picture for house prices, with a net balance of 28% more surveyors predicting a rise in prices over the next 12 months."

It added that the findings were the "most positive" since July 2010, with surveyors suggesting that house prices are likely to increase by an average of 1.5% over the next 12 months.

(JP/CD)