Levels of house sales are at their lowest on record since 1978.

Levels of house sales are at their lowest on record since 1978, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The RICS Housing Market Survey for October shows a modest improvement in the price balance, although it remains at a historically low level.

Property sales fell to an average of just 10.9 per chartered surveyor estate agent during the three months to the end of October, down from 11.5 in September.

Significantly, however, lead activity indicators – new buyer enquiries and sales expectations – both picked up further during the month.

The main factor that is depressing prices is the large stock of property on estate agents’ books relative to the pool of able buyers, rather than any surge in distressed selling. The survey also reported that new instructions to sell property continue to fall in aggregate.

London remains at the bottom of the activity league, with just 6.4 sales per surveyor on average, while in the West Midlands, a mild resurgence in sales activity has taken place over the last two months with the figure now standing at 15.3.

Meanwhile, the inventory of stocks on surveyors’ books fell to 80.7 (the lowest level since December 2007). This is partly because increasing numbers of vendors are opting to let their property instead, given the difficult sales market.

Nevertheless, the continued fall in stocks during October was not enough to prevent another drop in the ratio of completed sales to the stock of unsold property in the market. The sales to stock ratio – an indicator of market slack and a key guide to future price changes – dropped to 13.5%, which suggests further price falls are likely in the near term.

RICS spokesperson, Ian Perry, said: “Last week’s interest rate cut should certainly help to support the market now that lenders have agreed to pass on the reduction to borrowers. Even so the general lack of mortgage finance remains a major blockage in the housing market for a large majority of would-be buyers.

“Fortunately, many vendors have finally started to accept current market conditions and are dropping their asking prices to achieve a sale. Sales should increase in the coming months as more and more sellers understand that greater realism is the only way to make that long desired move.”