House prices are continuing to rise – at their highest since December 2006 – with London leading the price upturn (the highest for 13 years), according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The rise has occurred in spite of the increase in new house instructions – 15% of surveyors had reported such an increase, compared with 5% in September.

Meanwhile, the number of properties bought as buy-to-lets have also increased. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the UK buy-to-let market grew in the third quarter of 2009 – the first growth in two years – and buy-to-lets currently represent around 11% of the mortgage market. (Click here for the whole article)

And another interesting factor: Did you know that on average 1 in 3 of all property sales and lettings originate from a tenant seeing an Estate Agent Board outside the property. Click on the link to get your Estate Agent Board from UKHousing.