House price growth slowed in December, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' monthly house price balance falling for the first time since prices hit a low-point in February.

RICS reported on Tuesday that its seasonally-adjusted balance -- which represents the net percentage of surveyors who report higher rather than lower house prices over the past three months -- dropped to 30 percent from November's three-year high of 35 percent.

There were marked regional variations, with house price falls in Northern Ireland, northern and central England while prices rose strongly in London and southeastern England.

"For the time being the increase in demand still appears to be outstripping the increase in supply, albeit at a more modest pace than previously," RICS said.

A 13 percent majority of surveyors expect prices to rise over the next three months. A lead indicator of future house prices, the ratio of sales to unsold stock, dropped fractionally to 30.5 percent from November's two-year high.

RICS itself has forecast that prices will rise 1-2 percent for the year as a whole, with gains in the first few months of 2010 to be followed by stagnation and modest falls in the second half of the year.

British house prices fell to a five-year low in early 2009, but have since rebounded by 10-15 percent from their low point, giving a 2.7 percent rise for the year to November, according to mortgage lender Nationwide's index.