House prices are increasing in every region of the country, and the trend is set to continue.

That is the message in the RICS monthly residential market survey, which also said new buyer enquiries increased for the fifth consecutive month in August.

It added that following a “sustained period of easing” towards the end of 2014, house price inflation has now quickened in each of the past seven months.

Strongest growth came in East Anglia, Northern Ireland and Yorkshire & Humberside, but the survey added that “the vast majority of areas are seeing a sizeable increase in values”.

Terry Brannen, of Brannen & Partners in Newcastle, told the RICS: “Strong sales figures for this time of year proves confidence is still present in the marketplace.”

Alex McNeil, of Bramleys in Huddersfield, reported: “Market activity has been maintained during the summer months with stock levels gradually dwindling. The sustained demand has been a recipe for capital growth”.

Once again, said the survey, the house price rises were a result of the enduring trend of falling new instructions to sell and rising buyer demand. It estimated that prices would rise by 6% across 2015.

Chris Beeby, of Bletsoes estate agent in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, told the survey: “A real lack of fresh instructions still stifling the market. Looking forward to the end of the holiday season and hoping for a good autumn market.”

Indeed new vendor listings fell for the seventh consecutive month – although the pace of that decline appears to be decreasing moderately.

This means that there has not been any meaningful increase in monthly new instruction levels since the middle of 2013 – pushing average stock levels to record lows.

The survey said the regional sales picture varied considerably. While the West Midlands, the North and the South-West all posted solid growth, East Anglia and the North-West were reported to have seen a drop in sales volumes.

Looking forward, the survey concluded that all areas of the UK were expected to see “significant sales growth” over the next 12 months, with the outlook particularly good for Wales and Scotland.

In the lettings market tenant demand rose for the eighth straight month. Accordingly, said the survey, rents were expected to rise in the near future. It added that over the next five years rents were predicted to go up by 4.5% per year on a UK-wide basis.

Jeremy Fisher, of The Frost Partnership in Beaconsfield, said: “Beaconsfield is seeing an upturn in both tenant and landlord activity with the quality of both very good.”

* The lastest e surv Mortgage Monitor shows there were 69,220 house purchase approvals in August, up 9.3% year-on-year. There was a rise of 0.7% in purchases on July this year and 12,000 small deposit mortgages were approved – a post-recession record.