Activity in the UK housing market has shown a marked improvement, the RICS’ latest survey has revealed.

The seasonally adjusted net balance of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling house prices over the past three months turned positive in August, to 11%, compared with minus 6% in July. This is the highest result since May 2007.

The RICS reports there are further signs that more vendors might be venturing back into the marketplace. A net balance of 12% of surveyors reported that new instructions increased in August, compared with 4% in July.

However, the pace of improvement in new buyer enquiries did slow somewhat last month. The net balance of surveyors reporting an increase rather than a decrease in new buyer enquiries fell from 61% in July to 49% in August.

Meanwhile, the sales-to-stock ratio – a measure of market slack and a lead indicator of future prices – continued to edge upwards. It has now risen for eight consecutive months and stands at 27 – its highest level since January.