The growth in the number of would-be buyers in the housing market started to slow down last month as recent surges in interest began to level off, according to a report.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found the number of people looking to buy a home in February increased at its slowest rate since April last year.

A net balance of 24% of surveyors reported a growth in inquiries from people looking to make a purchase.

The comparable figure for January was a 34% net balance of surveyors, while December recorded a 52% balance.

RICS' latest residential market survey said it seemed that the initial surge in demand, driven by the more accessible housing market, had started to ease off.

In other findings, the number of homes coming up for sale failed to pick up substantially and supply was still "falling well short of required levels".

As for prices, the cost of a home continued to rise last month, with a balance of 45% more chartered surveyors reporting prices increasing rather than falling. The cost of a home has now risen across Scotland for ten months in a row, RICS said.

RICS Scotland director Sarah Speirs said: "The growth in buyer numbers that we've seen for some months started to slow down in February."