Property experts in Oxfordshire have played down fears that house prices are falling.

A new report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows more agents in the county predicting a fall in house prices with more properties on their books and fewer buyers.

But agents contacted by the Oxford Mail said that while there had been an increased supply of properties, it was more of a return to normal market conditions after a major supply shortage during the recession.

And the true test of the market will come in September, traditionally a busy time for buying and selling when people return from holiday.

Mark Charter, head of residential sales at the north Oxford office of Carter Jonas, said: “There are more houses on the market but in context this what we would expect for this time of year.

“The price rises we have seen are not sustainable in the long-term and have probably peaked but we have not seen signs they are falling. What none of us know is what September is going to bring.

“But in the long-term there is a shortage of houses and in the south demand will keep going up.”

Giles Lawton of Summertown-based Savills said the level of new property instructions was “normal” and demand was there for the “right property at the right price.”

He added: “We exchanged contracts on 19 properties in July which is what we would expect. There is a slight lack of confidence but I am optimistic about September.

“There is an overall shortage of housing, interest rates are still low and people want to live in Oxfordshire.”

The RICS survey showed that in July 15 per cent more Oxfordshire surveyors reported a fall rather than rise in house prices, a major shift from June when when 15 per cent more surveyors were optimistic that prices would rise.

RICS said difficulty in securing mortgages and increased uncertainty about the prospects for the economy may have contributed to caution from potential homebuyers.

And the abolition of the controversial Home Information Packs (HIPS) in May as well as changes to Capital Gains Tax may have encouraged more sellers with the average number of properties on surveyors’ books rising to an average of 52, up from 43 in June.

Despite this, sales expectations remain optimistic, with 25 per cent of surveyors expecting sales to rise rather than fall.

RICS South East director, Amanda Gardiner, said: “The forward looking price expectations numbers suggest this softer trend will continue through the second half of the year. However, agents are still generally optimistic about sales activity which should benefit from more realistic pricing of properties.”