British house prices were flat for the third month running in August, but there were signs of a revival especially in the north and west, property website Hometrack reported today.
The continued stagnation in the south of the country, with small falls in a few areas near London, resulted in no overall price change for the country as a whole, however.
The average house price for the country as a whole £135,200 sterling.
Mr John Wriglesworth, housing market economist for the website, said that Housetrack was confident that house prices would rise in the coming months and that concerns of a housing market crash were now proving to have no "intelligent foundation".
The survey chimes with other recent housing market surveys pointing to a stabilisation after several months of falling prices in the southern half of the country which led the boom of recent years.
The Bank of England last month cut interest rates to a fresh, 48-year low of 3.5 per cent which seems to have lent a fresh impetus to the market.
The Hometrack survey also revealed a 1.5 per cent increase in the number of new buyers registered but added that rises in the number of new properties listed was preventing any excess demand building up.
House prices are a key economic indicator in Britain and are closely watched by the Bank of England when it sets interest rates as they affect consumer confidence and spending patterns.
The Hometrack national house price inflation forecast for 2003 remains at 3 per cent.