<p>Demand for housing has increased significantly over the past six months according to the latest Hometrack survey released today. However this is expected to reverse into the Autumn with poor consumer sentiment and an uncertain economic outlook.</p> <p>The survey shows the overall trend in prices remains downward and average prices moved down 0.1% in August.</p> <p>"Demand for housing continues to grow," said Hometrack director of research Richard Donnell. "The last six months has seen a steady increase in the number of new buyers registering with agents. August saw this trend reverse with a 1.2% drop in buyers. A seasonal decline in buyers is to be expected but there is no doubt that pressures on household incomes are building and recent survey evidence suggests consumer confidence remains weak."</p>