House price growth has slowed as demand has dropped recently, according to a report released today.

It is the first time that house price growth has turned negative since October 2005, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

An earlier report in July this year found that 10.8 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise than a fall in demand for property.

By the time of this latest report, the situation had reversed itself somewhat so that 1.8 per cent more surveyors reported a fall than reported a rise.

Rics spokesman Ian Perry blamed rising house prices and interest rates, saying: "Affordability is at its most stretched in over a decade and many will worry that rising mortgage repayments will prove a step too far."

He added that his organisation expects the market to "soften further going into the autumn".

There have been five interest rate rises since August 2006, each of a quarter per cent, bringing the base rate to its present level of 5.25 per cent.

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