HOUSE prices in York and North Yorkshire have shown their first decline in almost two years, according to a survey.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) housing market survey, revealed eight per cent more surveyors reported a fall in prices in the area after November 2005.

The survey showed that the number of new buyer inquiries in York and North Yorkshire had fallen for the second consecutive month - at the fastest pace since April 2003.

Edward Waterson, of estate agent Carter Jonas, in Micklegate, York, said: "After a rush of new instructions to beat the Home Information Pack deadline, there has been less property coming on to the market and the summer lull in enquiries seems to have come early."

John Haigh, of auctioneers, valuers, estate agents and chartered surveyors Lister And Haigh, in Knaresborough, said: "The market remains slow moving, particularly in the middle price band with more activity in the lower and higher price bands and in more individuals' properties - who knows what will happen to the market if it stops raining." The drop in the number of new buyer inquiries reflects the national picture - new buyer inquiries are declining at the fastest pace since February 2006, after hikes in the interest rate began to weigh heavily on first-time buyers.

In York and North Yorkshire, new instructions to sell property declined at the fastest pace in the survey's history.

Four interest rate rises and the prospect of more to come have dented surveyor confidence in the house price outlook.

Surveyor confidence in the outlook for property sales has almost halved, falling to the lowest level since June 2004. The news comes as RICS' UK construction market survey, published on Tuesday, revealed the growth in construction workloads in York and North Yorkshire slowed in the quarter to 2007.

But with growth remaining firm and above the survey's long run average, chartered surveyors remained confident.

David Stubbs, senior economist at RICS, said: "The immediate outlook for the construction industry is bright. This quarter's slight slowdown can be viewed as minimal because last quarter's growth was so strong. With the economy running at almost full capacity and spurring on business investment, the construction boom is steady and sustainable."