House prices have continued to slide according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The report showed that prices fell at a greater rate in March than in February and that the number of sales was stagnant. The seasonally adjusted figures showed that 37% more surveyors reported a fall in property prices than a rise, down from the revised figure of 34% in February. The greatest falls came in the midlands and southern England. The decline was more moderate in the North while in London prices have remained static for four months. Prices are still rising in Scotland. Jeremy Leaf, RICS’s national housing market spokesman, said: Getting on the property ladder is currently easier for first-time buyers as buyers increasingly call the shots. Sellers must be more realistic if they want to secure a sale.” (Times, Independent)