House sales set to rise

Surveyors expect sales of homes in the UK to pick up in the next three months owing to support for mortgage lending.

However, prices are expected to remain little changed over the same period, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' survey suggested.

Surveyors have echoed the views of a number of lenders that the Bank of England's new Funding for Lending scheme could support the market.

This scheme aims to make cheap funds worth about £80bn available to lenders.

In return, they must lend the money on to commercial and personal borrowers.

The proportion of surveyors expecting sales to rise in the next three months was at its highest level since May 2010, the survey found.

Last week, the Nationwide Building Society predicted that prices would stay flat or fall slightly in the coming year, while rival lender the Halifax said that the recession was the main reason behind the subdued housing market.