The shortage in supply of houses up for sale helped boost prices across every region of the UK for the first time last August, the survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found.

Around a third more surveyors reported prices rising in April, up from 22 per cent in March, amid uncertainty over the general election.

At the same time a net balance of minus 21 per cent reported a fall in new instructions - the lowest reading since May 2009.

Rics said many sellers held off from putting properties up for sale in the run up to the general election, demand was also hit by the uncertainty.

This left activity sluggish across the property sector, with the reading for agreed sales standing at minus 3 per cent.

The trade body warned on the crisis of the supply shortage and that measures to increase new homes in the UK was "absolutely critical".

"It is conceivable that the decisive outcome to the election could encourage a pick-up in instructions to agents and ease some of the recent upward pressure on house prices, but it is doubtful that this will be substantive enough to provide anything more than temporary relief," said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics. 

The report suggested prices rose in all areas of the UK after the London market bounced back following a recent cooling off, with 28 per cent more respondents seeing values in the capital rise last month, compared with 6 per cent more surveyors in March who saw house prices fall.

The survey predicted further prices gains across the UK, as 72 per cent thought prices to rise over the next year.

www.express.co.uk