Property price rises picked up pace in January, even as unusually heavy snowfall led to a sharp drop in new buyer enquiries, a survey indicated on Tuesday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly house price balance -- which represents the net percentage of surveyors who report higher rather than lower house prices -- rose to +32 in January from +30 in December.

That was well above the consensus forecast of +28 and not far from November's three-year high of +35.

The details of the survey showed there were marked regional variations, with prices rising strongly in London and south east England but falling in Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside and parts of northern England.

The net balance of new buyer enquiries fell to -20 in January from +18 in December. But survey respondents attributed these falls to icy, snowy weather at the start of the month and were optimistic with respect to the future.

Indeed, the net balance of surveyors who expected sales to rise over the next three months rather than fall jumped to +24 from +7 and those who saw prices rising increased to +24 from +12.

House prices fell to a five-year low in early 2009, but have staged a dramatic recovery over the past 10 months, giving a 8.6 percent rise in the year to January, according to mortgage lender Nationwide's index.