However, retail sales figures have put in question whether April’s jump in consumer demand would be sustained.

About 6 per cent of estate agents across the UK said that property values had risen in May, while 42 per cent said that prices fell, according to figures from the Royal Insitution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The resulting seasonally adjusted balance of -44 is up from -58 in April, suggesting that the pace at which prices are falling is easing. May’s reading was the highest since November 2007.

Buyer inquiries at estate agencies last month rose for the seventh consecutive month in May — at its fastest pace in a decade. There was a jump in sales, with estate agents’ branches reporting an average of 11.8 transactions in the three months to May, up from 10.6 in April.

Agents are also bullish about the outlook, with 40 per cent more expecting sales levels to increase rather than fall in the coming months, the highest figure recorded since the series began in 1998. The figures come days after Halifax said that house prices had risen by 2.6 per cent in May and a majority of City economists forecast that the recession could pause during the summer.

Ian Perry, the RICS spokesman, cautioned against reading too much into the new figures. “On the face of it, the housing market does appear to be close to bottoming out, with activity picking up in a material way and prices at last stabilising.

However, with the economic backdrop still quite uncertain, unemployment set to continue increasing sharply and finance for first-time buyers still in short supply, there are a number of significant obstacles for the market to overcome over the coming months.”

The threat of unemployment has dampened the mood on the high street, with like-for-like sales falling by 0.8 per cent in May after a 4.6 per cent jump in April, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Food sales slowed, although they picked up late in May as households stocked up on ingredients and implements for barbecues. Sales of clothing and footwear declined compared with strong sales in a very sunny May last year, when consumers splashed out on lighter clothes. However, the 0.8 per cent fall was one of the most modest monthly declines since July last year.

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