The ongoing rise in Scottish house buyer numbers apparently slowed down to its lowest point in almost a year during February, according to the RICS February UK Residential Market Survey.

Last month, buyer numbers increased at their slowest rate since April 2013, with a net balance of 24% of chartered surveyors reporting a growth in new buyer enquiries.

It seems that the initial surge in demand, driven by the more accessible housing market, has started to slowly level off. Once more, the amount of homes coming up for sale failed to substantially pick up, and, although buyer demand is gradually starting to slacken, supply is still falling well short of required levels.

“The growth in buyer numbers that we’ve seen for some months started to slow down in February, as the surge in interest sparked towards the end of last summer began to level off,” explained Sarah Speirs, Director RICS Scotland.

“While this does not mean an end to the increasing activity we’ve been seeing recently, it does suggest that the pent up demand generated throughout the downturn is gradually exhausting itself,” she added.

However, the price of homes in Scotland has continued to rise during February, with 45% more chartered surveyors reporting prices rising rather than falling. The cost of a home has now risen across Scotland for ten consecutive months.

Looking ahead, surveyors predict both prices and transaction levels will continue to increase as we enter the summer months, when the market traditionally starts to pick up.

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